Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, brawls and cockroaches: the living conditions for detainees in the Bordeaux-Gradignan prison center (Gironde) are "
particularly unworthy
", denounces the General Controller of places of deprivation of liberty in a report published Wednesday July 13 in the Journal Official.
Carried out from May 30 to June 10, 2022 by the Comptroller General Dominique Simonnot, accompanied by eleven controllers, an unannounced visit "
led to the observation of a significant number of malfunctions leading to serious violations of the dignity and fundamental rights of detainees , whose living conditions are particularly undignified
,” the report writes.
"
Locked up 24 hours a day
"
First, prison overcrowding is “
drastically high
” with an occupancy rate of “
235% in all of the men's remand prison quarters
” and “
145 triple cells with a mattress on the floor
”.
In the men's remand center particularly singled out, "
the accommodation of human beings should be prohibited there
", asserts the report which details "
inhuman
" conditions of detention.
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"
Locked up 24 hours a day, without access to any activity
", prisoners have less than 3 M2 of personal space in their cell (excluding WC and furniture) and "
any possibility of movement
" is prohibited in the event of installation of a mattress on the floor.
In the poorly insulated cells with "
leprous, sometimes blackened
" walls, the natural light is "
weak
", "
the bunk beds are unstable
" and the "
foam mattresses (...) extremely dirty and stained with stains
".
“Frequent and very violent brawls”
Privacy in the toilets is sometimes reduced to “
makeshift curtains
”, the “
collective showers are all unsanitary
” and pests proliferate, including cockroaches entering the
prisoners' “
pockets ” at night.
Food, "
frequently spoiled
", is not "
distributed equitably
" among the detainees.
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If the staff "
obviously does what it can to overcome the many difficulties
", the lack of staff and absenteeism lead to "
degraded functioning
", judges the Comptroller General who calls in her recommendations sent to the Ministry of Justice for “
urgent measures
”.
This situation, which is a source of “
a strong feeling of insecurity
” among prisoners, is all the more alarming since “
fights are frequent and often very violent in exercise yards
”.
“overcrowding situation”
The "
number of suicides is also high"
and
"serious deficiencies"
affect access to healthcare for detainees.
In his response, the Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupont-Moretti believes that the construction of a new 600-place establishment "
meeting prison standards
", replacing the current 436-place building "
which will be definitively closed
"
,
"
will allow 'to curb the phenomenon of prison overcrowding
'.
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A new establishment “
does not constitute a solution
”, had previously judged Dominique Simonnot, specifying that the new “
undersized
” premises are “
in a situation of overcrowding up to 150%
”, even before leaving the ground.
