The third detention facility in the Czech Republic was established in the Pankrác Prison in Prague
The reconstruction of the building in the area of the Prague Prison cost 47 million crowns, the furniture and some of the security elements were made by prisoners. “It’s a huge help to the Prison Service. The number of inmates of detention institutions is increasing approximately ten times a year and the same number is not decreasing, “said the head of the Prison Service Simon Michailidis at the introduction of the new institution. He pointed out that the capacity of the existing two detention centers is 130 percent full.
The first inmates will move to Pankrác detention next week. The operation of the institute will be ensured by 19 members of the Prison Service and ten professional staff. The director of the Pankrác prison, Alexandr Vidlák, said that the inmates would not come into contact with other prisoners at all.
The wardens were on internships in other detention centers, they also gained experience in the Bohnice hospital. “Inmates are usually psychiatric patients and their behavior is often illegible. Therefore, it is necessary to pay even more attention, “he compared the work in detention with the activities of guards elsewhere in the prison.
The new institute was established in a three-storey building from the end of the 19th century, which originally served as a paint shop and in recent years before reconstruction as a warehouse. According to Michailidis, it was still a ruin in 2018. New furniture was made by prisoners from Jiřice, convicts from Pankrác and Heřmanice are best suited for the production of security metal elements.
Inmates will have at their disposal 24 cells, facilities for group therapy or a room for sports and physical activities. In the adjacent outdoor area, they can use three walking yards and fitness machines. From spring they will be able to work on garden flower beds.
Pre-trial detention protects society from particularly dangerous mentally ill people as well as from people addicted to addictive substances, for whom protective treatment in psychiatric institutions is not sufficient. The first detention facility in the Czech Republic was established in January 2009 on the premises of the Brno Remand Prison; since February 2013, detention has also been operating in the Opava Prison. There are currently 113 inmates, most of them – 81 – have lived with children for more than two years.
Both men and women are in Brno detention. It functions as an inaugural detention center, where professional staff provides a diagnostic report for new inmates. The capacity of the institute is 45 seats, but currently there are 59 inmates, of which 12 are women. The accommodation capacity also exceeds the Opava Institute for Men, where there are a total of 54 inmates for 50 places.
The courts order the perpetrators to stay in the detention center, either as a separate measure or in addition to imprisonment. In such cases, the offender appears in detention only after serving a prison sentence. The court imposes detention indefinitely and reviews its reasons at least once a year.
The purpose of medical and psychological work with inmates is to enable the detention hospital to change treatment in a psychiatric hospital, or release. In addition to group and individual psychotherapies, rehabilitation programs such as art therapy and music therapy are also provided in the institutes. Inmates can use the opportunity to talk to the prison chaplain, they also train social skills or self-service activities such as cooking or washing.