While visiting a penitentiary center in Oise on Wednesday December 25, Gérald Darmanin, new Minister of Justice, announced that he wanted to build prisons “on a human scale, almost everywhere in the territory”. For Dominique Simonnot, general controller of places of deprivation of liberty, we must also rely on what already exists among some of our European neighbors, under the more common name of “open prison”.
How do open prisons work?
Small-scale open prisons are mostly found in Nordic countries such as Finland, Norway, Sweden, but also in the Netherlands and Switzerland. These are places of deprivation of liberty which accommodate a small number of prisoners. Sobysogard prison in Denmark had 144 prisoners in 2019 and Jyväskylä prison in Finland would house 60 in 2022. In the latter country, one in three prisoners lives in an open prison.
In most cases, these prisoners are serving short sentences or are at the end of their sentences. A judge also assesses in advance whether their profile is suitable for this type of prison. Among the criteria: the ability to work, not to consume alcohol or drugs or even the risk of reoffending.
How are these prisons open?
The detainees are certainly forced to stay inside, as in a traditional prison, but the security system is much lighter. There are no bars on the windows and no watchtowers, barbed wire or high surrounding walls. In some prisons such as Asptuna, Sweden, inmates are equipped with an electronic bracelet. In that of Horserod, in Denmark, the supervisors are not armed and simply wear an alarm box on their belt.
This system is based above all on trust with the inmate, with the objective of reintegration. Generally, prisoners have an obligation to be active during the day, through work, classes or a course of care. In some prisons such as Horserod, prisoners also prepare their meals in a common room and clean their rooms themselves.
Could this model be imported into France?
Yes, according to the general controller of places of deprivation of liberty Dominique Simonnot. She proposes to build these prisons “on a human scale” in “city center before the eyes of citizens because this way of building prisons outside the cities, very far from everything, in no man’s land, does not give very good results“. Moreover, there are already two prisons open in France: one in Mauzac in Dordogne, has 360 inmates, the other in Casabianda, in Corsica, accommodates 126.
As with our European neighbors, the inmates of these establishments are handpicked and work in the fields around the prison. According to Dominique Simonnot, who is in favor of the establishment of open prisons in France, if we do not democratize this system more, it is a problem of political will.
