This Wednesday, in the Committee on the Laws, the deputies adopted an amendment which provides that "the architecture of the new penitentiary establishments will take into account the development of work in detention".
The presence of premises adapted to work in detention should be part of the criteria for the construction of new prisons, decided on Wednesday the deputies in the framework of the examination in committee of the project of reform of justice.
In addition to a first set of amendments to reinstate the text after its rewriting in the Senate at first reading in late October, the deputies adopted an amendment in the Committee on the Laws which provides that "the architecture of the new penitentiary establishments will take into account the development of the work. in detention " .
15,000 places in jail
The draft law, which will be examined in the hemicycle from 19 November, provides for the construction of 15 000 places of prison (7000 liveries and 8 000 started in 2022).
The amendment, led by Philippe Gosselin (LR) and Laurence Vichnievsky (MoDem), builds on the report of the working groups of the Law Commission on Detention, which "pointed out that even recently built prisons have not always large enough to accommodate several workshops, " according to his explanatory memorandum.
The authors indicate, for example, that the prison center in Bourg-en-Bresse, which opened in February 2010 with 690 places, "has a" workshop zone "that only allows 90 detainees to work" .
Promote the professional integration of prisoners
Another amendment by Philippe Gosselin and Mrs. Vichnievsky, to promote the professional integration of prisoners, to extend to new penitentiary institutions the experimentation of integration projects initiated in 2016 in some prisons.
Naïma Moutchou, leader of the "walkers" of the Law Commission, has also passed an amendment providing for a report to evaluate "trusted modules" experienced since 2015 and in particular their effects on violence in detention.
"Better autonomy and accountability"
These modules are based on a Spanish penitentiary program dating from 2001, called "respeto" . Its principle: a contract that offers "benefits" (cells open during the day, free access to showers, etc.) in exchange for "obligations" (get up at 7:30 am, civic education classes, cleaning ...).
These modules should allow "greater autonomy and accountability of inmates," says the MP, which advances the goal of "reduce recidivism and promote reintegration . " Its amendment also plans to analyze the "possibilities" of extending these modules.