2020-06-12
119
1. The British Government tries to provide humane and efficient prison service.
2. In 2003 the average prison population in England and Wales was 51,000 people.
3. Open prisons do not have physical barriers to prevent escape.
4. There are separate prisons for women.
5. People awaiting trial are separated from convicted criminals.
6. The biggest problem for British prisons is overcrowding.
7. Prisoners in Great Britain have the rights to write and receive letters, be visited by relatives and friends.
8. Privileges include a personal radio, books, newspapers and an opportunity to buy things from prison shops.
9. Prison Governors deal with breaches of discipline.
10. Special Boards of visitors exercise public control over the prison administration in granting and taking away of privileges.
11. Prison industries are to give inmates work experience and to reduce the cost of the prison system.
12. Education of inmates is financed by the prison service.
13. Education is compulsory and full-time for young offenders.
14. Libraries and computer facilities are available in all British prisons.
15. The number of prisoners has increased throughout the world for the last 20 years.
16. Today the biggest numbers of inmates are in Russia and the United States of America.
17. A way to solve the problem of overcrowding is the use more extensively alternative forms of punishment, such as fines, community work, probation, etc.
18. Electronic bracelets allow tracking offenders within 150-200 feet.
19. Electronically-monitored offenders commit violent crimes very rarely.
20. Alcatraz was the first maximum security prison for the worst criminals in the USA.
21. Alcatraz operated for almost 30 years.
22. Prison discipline on Alcatraz was extremely strict.
|
|
|
23. Alcatraz was closed because it was too expensive.
24. The control of drug substances is a very serious problem within a correctional institution.
25. Illegal drugs are cocaine, cannabis, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and narcotics.
26. Correctional officers should know the most common symptoms of drug abuse within a prison.
27. Drugs can be brought into the institution in a number of ways.
28. It is important to conduct searches of all people who could bring drugs into the institution.
III. Составьте аннотацию прочитанных текстов по теме «Corrections Today», следуя общепринятым правилам и используя соответствующие речевые образцы (см. прил. 2).
VI. Human Rights Approach
to Police Work and Prison Management
(Соблюдение прав человека в работе полиции и сотрудников системы исполнения наказаний)
1. Freedom under Law
Human rights and freedoms should be placed into an international context. Since the Second World War a number of international agreements, treaties, and conventions has been drawn up to protect, stabilize and increase civil rights. The main documents in this list are:
1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization on 10th December 1948.
2. The European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1950 and came into force in September 1953.
3. The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1989).
4. The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1957) and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990).
5. The Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (1979).
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that «everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status».
Respect for all human beings, including those who have been placed in prisons, is the most important ethical principle and guideline for the penal authorities and prison staff. A famous prisoner and ex-President of South Africa Nelson Mandela once said, «No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones».
The international human rights documents leave no room for any doubt in respect of torture and ill-treatment. These documents say that there are absolutely no circumstances in which torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment can ever be justified. Article 1.1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment says, «The term torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person».
|
|
|
There are certain basic physical requirements that must be met if the state respects the prisoner’s human dignity. These include adequate accommodation, hygienic conditions, clothing and bedding, food, drink and exercise. Imprisonment must not include risk of physical or emotional abuse by staff or other prisoners. It must not include risk of a serious illness, or even death because of bad physical conditions.
(A. Coyle «A Human Approach to Prison Management»)
2. Prison Staff and the Administration of Prisons
When people think of prisons they usually consider their physical aspects: walls, fences, a building with locked doors and windows with bars. In reality the most important aspect of a prison is the human dimension, since prisons are first of all concerned with people.
The two most important groups of people in a prison are the prisoners and the staff who look after them. The key to a well-managed prison is the nature of the relationships between these two groups.
Prisons usually cannot select their prisoners; they have to accept whoever is sent to them by the court or the legal authority. They can, however, choose their staff. It is essential that the staff should be carefully selected, properly trained, supervised and supported.
Prison work is demanding. It involves working with men and women who have been deprived of their liberty, many of whom are likely to be mentally disturbed, suffer from addictions, have poor social and educational skills and come from marginalized groups of society. Some will be a threat to the public, some will be dangerous and aggressive, and others will try very hard to escape. None of them wants to be in prison. Each of them is an individual person.
(A. Coyle «A Human Approach to Prison Management»)
3. Human Rights in Police Investigation
Observation of human rights is a very important aspect of police work. No law enforcement officer is entitled to violate human rights of citizens during investigations, interviewing of witnesses, victims and suspects, personal searches, searches of vehicles and premises and interception of correspondence and communications. The following points are of special importance:
1. Everyone has the right to security of the person.
2. Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
3. Everyone is to be presumed innocent until proved guilty in a fair trial.
4. No pressure, physical or mental, shall be applied to suspects.
5. Torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment is absolutely prohibited.
6. Confidentiality and care in the handling of sensitive information are to be exercised at all times.
7. No one shall be compelled to testify against himself.
These rights are proclaimed in many international and national documents, such as Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations Organization, national Constitutions, and other laws and conventions.
(P. W. D. Reymond «General Principles of English Law»)
Задания
I. Ответьте на вопросы по содержанию прочитанных текстов.
1. Is there any document in Great Britain to state individual freedoms of people?
2. What international documents have been drawn up since World War II to protect and increase human rights?
3. Does Text 1 enlist any international documents regarding the treatment of offenders and protection of their human rights?
4. What does the writer of Text 2 mean by physical and human aspects of prisons?
5. Why do you think the prison work is difficult and demanding for the staff?
6. What does the author of Text 3 say about the observation of human rights by policemen?
7. What human rights have been proclaimed in many international and national documents, according to Text 3? What do you think are the most important rights in this list?
