Penitentiary workers in Lledoners demand more security measures
Nearly 200 penitentiary workers from Lledoners staged a rally at the gates of the prison this Monday to denounce a “lack of authority” and lament the increase in assaults at the center. This action has joined the protests that began on Friday in Catalan prisons after the murder of a cook at Mas d’Enric prison by an inmate. The workers are demanding more security measures to avoid similar incidents that have more than doubled in the last three years in the Bagan prison.
Increase in conflict in prisons
Prison workers blame the Department of Justice for the increase in conflict in prisons, especially in Lledoners. According to the CCOO union spokesman at the prison, Òscar Besa, there has been a significant increase in disciplinary proceedings opened for assaults, insults, threats and drug trafficking. In the last three years, the files have gone from eight hundred in 2020 to nearly two thousand in 2023. This situation has placed Lledoners prison at the same level of conflict as larger prisons such as Brians 2 (https://www .softcatala.org/resum-de-textos-en-catala/).
A less restrictive prison policy
According to the representative of UGT in Lledoners, Jordi Vicente, the increase in conflict is the result of a less restrictive prison policy that gives wings to inmates to lead incidents. Vicente believes that the figure of the prison official has lost authority and recognition, and many inmates know that no punitive measures will be applied to them. This situation is due to the lack of resources and the saturation of the Closed Regime Department (DERT). The workers demand more security measures and an increase in the workforce to put an end to this insecure situation.
Services below minimum during the protest
The prison workers’ protest has affected the activity at the Lledoners prison, with the inmates remaining in their cells and occasional departures in small groups to make purchases or make phone calls. Throughout the day, the center has operated with minimal services, with no entrances or exits from the prison. Union sources assure that no incident occurred during the day and that minimum services have been guaranteed with the support of the Mossos d’Esquadra (https://aiarticlespinner.co/ca/article-spinner/).
