
Key elements
There is a significant power imbalance in the closed environment of a prison, with detainees depending almost completely on staff for their basic needs and to ensure that their rights are respected. Prison staff come into contact with detainees on a daily basis and their influence on how detainees experience their detention cannot be underestimated. Prison staff therefore need to have the rights skills, knowledge and attitude to carry out their role with respect for human rights and dignity.
As the European Committee on the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has noted: “The cornerstone of a humane prison system will always be properly recruited and trained prison staff who know how to adopt the appropriate attitude in their relations with prisoners and see their work more as a vocation than as a mere job. Building positive relations with prisoners should be recognised as a key feature of that vocation”.