P001. 21st century prisons in Spain: the new challenges for prison workers.

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Abstract

The collective of prison officers entered a new stage after the cessation of ETA's violent actions which had meant a functioning and working conditions based on security in the face of these threats. After the handover of prisons to the Basque Government at the end of 2021, the adaptation to the new challenges faces a lack of staff and the fixing of their working conditions as a strategic element.
The approach of the authorities on the new strategy on prisons meets with a large group that, once removed the special working conditions by the threats they suffered, claim that they have neither sufficient human resources nor materials to perform their work properly. This unease is being felt in the day-to-day running of the prisons and clashes with the political approach of building prisons that serve to reintegrate inmates into social life, since it is based on the essential work of these officials.
The research is being carried out particularly in the three Basque prisons, located in Zaballa, Basauri and Martutene, through various interviews and visits to prison officials and their superiors, which is allowing us to profile the officials and gather their crucial point of view. Therefore, the study aims to gather the priorities and challenges that the officials themselves establish in order to truly build a 21st century penitentiary policy that allows for scrupulous compliance with the human rights of all the people who remain in prison.

Author

• Eneko Echeverria Bereciartua, Professor of Criminal Procedure Law at University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU