France urged to drastically improve situation in overcrowded jails

The International Observatory for Prisons (OIP) and Amnesty International have jointly called on France to implement an emergency plan to overhaul its inefficient and overcrowded prison system.

A new report says inmate numbers in French prisons have risen to create overcrowded an unsanitary conditions. AFP - PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA

The demand comes two years after France was condemned by the European court of human rights (CEDH) for chronic overcrowding and undignified penitentiary conditions.

The OIP and Amnesty International have accused France’s government of inefficiency and not applying adequate measures to respond to the ruling.

The organisations said that in May 2022, there were 71,038 inmates for 60,722 available places – an occupancy rate of 138.9 percent. This is higher than in January 2020, when the CEDH first urged France to deal with overcrowding.

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Although there was a slight dip in the number of new inmates at the height of the Covid crisis, the figure began to climb again from the summer of 2020 due to an absence of political will, the OIP said in its report on Thursday.

A large number of prison buildings in the network were considered as dilapidated and unsanitary, resulting in particularly degrading conditions, the organisation said.

The reforms put in place in past years have largely overlooked the root causes of overcrowding, and have in some cases contributed to the problem, the review added.

Counterproductive policies

The observatory has pointed out the failure of a costly and counterproductive policy of consistently increasing the number of prison places.

“For the last 30 years, more than 36,000 places have been created, confirming the trend of "the more we create, the more we fill’ policy,” it said.

The organisations jointly suggest that in order to tackle the structural issues, funds earmarked for the extension of the prison system should be redirected towards the renovation of existing jails with a view to developing activities for inmates and reinsertion programmes.

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The report recommends a national plan to decriminalise certain misdemeanours such as driving without a licence, or drug use.

It also favours reducing the use of pre-trial detention and developing non-custodial measures.

The OIP also wants a new independent regulatory body to make sure the changes are put in place and maintained.