Amapá leads an unprecedented initiative in Brazil: comprehensive classification promotes efficient prisoner management and the humanisation of the prison system.
18 December 2024, Amapá, Brazil - Between 28 October and 29 November, through a partnership between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the National Secretariat for Penal Policies (SENAPPEN) and the Institute of Penitentiary Administration of the State of Amapá (IAPEN/AP), 3,317 prisoners were classified in the state. Unprecedented for its scope, the action covered the entire state prison population, including men and women, untried and convicted prisoners, and prisoners serving time in the closed and semi-open regimes.
A cornerstone of efficient, humane and safe prison systems, prisoner classification aims to separate prisoners who, due to their criminal record or characteristics, could exert a negative influence on others, as well as identifying prisoners’ specific needs, making it possible to customize penal treatment and design individualised sentence plans. These are the purposes of classification as set out in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, of which the UNODC is the guardian, and which seek to promote security, human dignity and the integrity of prison systems.
Over the course of five weeks, a multidisciplinary team made up of nurses, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists on loan from the Secretariats of various federal units attended to the state's population deprived of their liberty. In addition, the IAPEN/AP team collaborated directly in the logistics of the activities.
Through the interviews, information was collected on prisoners’ socio-economic and family background, school and work history, and their mental health conditions. The data collected will be used to plan interventions targeted at the prison population, who will be offered appropriate and individualised penal treatment.
Grounded in the Risk-Need-Responsiveness model of prisoner classification adapted to the local context and on the UNODC Handbook on the Classification of Prisoners, the methodology used also includes the risk assessment of each prisoner, which will be carried out by IAPEN/AP security staff. Based on the results and following the assignment of risk categories, reallocations can be made.
SENAPPEN's Religious, Legal and Social Assistance coordinator, Ana Lívia Fontes, stated that the action contributed "not only to the technical classification of prisoners but also to identifying specificities that need to be addressed, such as those of women accompanied by their children in the prison environment, pregnant women, and individuals under security measures. The experiences gathered will help inform the development of national parameters regarding the classification of prisoners, but above all, they will serve to qualify our work and design public policies that are truly effective for social reintegration."
The director of IAPEN/AP, Luiz Carlos Gomes Júnior, pointed out that Amapá is the first state in Brazil to classify its entire prison population, highlighting the importance of the partnership with UNODC and SENAPPEN, which will contribute to more efficient management of the state's prisons. According to him, the classification process is "an essential step towards guaranteeing both the humanisation of penal treatment and security within prison units".
PRIS-COOP Project - The activity was carried out as part of UNODC's PRIS-COOP project, with the support of the US Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The initiative promotes the dissemination and adoption of innovative and inter-institutional practices to strengthen prison management and responses to organised crime in Brazil and Paraguay prison systems, in line with international minimum standards.
UN Conventions - The training promoted by UNODC aligns with its role as the guardianof theUnited Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC), and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Mandela and the Bangkok Rules
Click here for more information on UNODC's work on prison reform. To find out more about UNODC's work on organised crime, click here.
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