Barcelona The use of sprays to contain inmates will continue to be banned in Catalan prisons. The Department of Justice had undertaken to study the measure – long claimed by the unions in the sector – following the increase in assaults on prison officials. But after evaluating their safety and compliance with European regulations, the ministry led by Gemma Ubasart has decided to discard them. In fact, two months ago the Secretary of Penal Measures, Reintegration and Victim Support, Amand Calderó, already made it clear that they would not be launched if it was not “with absolute guarantees of security for inmates and professionals”.
Now the department says they have assessed “the impact of the use” of aerosols in prisons both from the point of view of the health of prisoners and officials and also from a legal point of view. “Aerosols base their effectiveness on the fact that they are highly irritating, so that in asthmatic people, for example, they can generate serious crises”, they emphasize in a statement.
According to the ministry, despite the fact that aerosols are provided for in the general prison regulations, they stopped being used in Catalan centers in 1994. After evaluating the new reports, Justice explains that it discards them to “protect the physical integrity and the health of professionals and inmates” and “guarantee their rights”.
“Historical mistake”
The majority union of prison staff, UGT Prisons, considers the department’s decision a “historic mistake”. It says the reintroduction of the sprays was limited to “complex” and “high-risk” interventions for prison officials. The union will request the reports from the ministry to be able to evaluate them first hand and will talk to the parliamentary groups so they can convey their concerns to the Government. In fact, they have already done it, they say in a statement, with the PSC.
2023-12-27 18:55:32
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