Legal proposals for greater security of prison facilities



12.03.2009. - Amendments to the Law of BiH on the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, Detention and Other Measures, which are prepared by Ministry of Justice of BiH and whose principles are recently supported by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, provide through 42 norms harmonization of legal provisions in this area with the international standards. Thus, among other things, are introduced several new measures which improve the control of security in prison facilities.

New amendments introduce the risk assessment of prisoners, which refers primarily to the assessment of the risk of escape, according to 13 criteria. Among them are: threat to the public by prisoner, previous convictions and conduct, nature of crime, attitude towards the victim, access to external assistance, personal and family matters etc.   

Law also determines specific measures of supervision when using the privileges, in order to assess the threat of every prisoner and prevent the possible escape. Supervision includes regular and systematic insight into the behavior of prisoners by applying measures of prohibition, monitoring of persons, taking away of items and documents etc.

It also tightens the conditions for obtaining privileges for persons convicted of most serious criminal offences, for persons sentenced to more than ten years imprisonment, alcoholics, drug addicts and multiple recidivists. According to the proposed amendments, these prisoners can obtain privileges only after serving three fifths of their penalty in relation to the previously prescribed one-half of the penalty.

Beside security measures, proposed amendments to the law introduce and improve other important norms of the execution of criminal sanctions, such as: medical intervention during the hunger strike, transfer of prisoners, establishing of the commission for monitoring the accommodation of prisoners and prison system reform, defining of prisoners’ right to vote, recruitment of prison officer trainees etc.

Text of the Law on Amendments to the Law of BiH on the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, Detention and Other Measures is currently in the parliamentary procedure.  Complete insight into its content you can have here.