Chaplains say prison being used as substitute for hospital
The chaplains are the only independent voices who work within the prison system. They tell it like it is, without any agenda or any requirement to bow before the powers that be.
Mary was sent to prison for theft that amounted to less than €1,000. She has special educational needs.
“Prison is a difficult place for anyone with special needs,” the chaplains' report for the Dóchas Centre relates.
“The purpose of the sentence as punishment is lost on people who barely understand the significance of the sentence and the purpose of rehabilitation is equally lost by virtue of how the specialist help that they need is not available in prison.”
Mary, not her real name, was dealt with in a criminal justice system that does not recognise her lack of capacity.
“That capacity is further compromised whenever the gullibility of the suspect is taken advantage of by others and that in fact as a vulnerable person she is being taken advantage of. Prison is not the appropriate place for the woman,” the report states.
During her time in custody, Mary did not receive any visits, yet prison became “an enjoyable experience where staff and fellow prisoners have looked after the woman and treated her with the respect that she has been denied outside prison".
The report goes on to state that as a vulnerable adult with special educational needs, her return to society will be equally problematic.
“The fact that she has not been visited during her incarceration does not give confidence that she will have the support she needs after prison,” the report states.
The above example informed much of the commentary across all the chaplains' reports about the kind of scenarios they encounter on a daily basis. The chaplains are the only independent voices who work within the prison system. They tell it like it is, without any agenda or any requirement to bow before the powers that be.
Here’s a line about some of the prisoners in Limerick prison, and how they adapted to restrictions during the recent pandemic.
“It has been very stressful to see very vulnerable women and men with serious mental health issues struggling to adapt to quarantine, especially when they don’t quite understand what is going on.”
That a prisoner would not understand the basic concept of quarantine during a pandemic suggests a level of incapacity in urgent need of medical attention.
The chaplains' report from Cork Prison echoed the same alarming worries about basic human rights.
“Last year I was deeply concerned that some men were spending long periods of time on the VPU [Vulnerable Persons Unit] landing,” the report states. The VUP unit is generally used to house prisoners who might have transitory concerns, such as suicidal ideation. It is, by necessity, a restricted regime, not designed for long-term occupancy, yet that is how it was being used.
“I felt that prison was not the place for them and that the prison staff were ill-equipped and were not trained to deal with mental health issues,” the chaplain reports.
The picture painted is one in which large numbers of people with mental health illness or difficulties come into contact with the criminal justice system primarily because of their condition. The system as it is constituted appears to have little choice but to imprison these offenders.
The source of the illness is never explored, treatment never accessed. The prisoner is housed in an environment where an illness is likely to get worse. And then he goes back out into society even less equipped to deal with life. This manner in which the system functions is constantly commented on, with little effort at resolution but the chaplains are the independent voices and advocates who see the results up front.
Observations about the abrogation of responsibility by the State towards vulnerable citizens constitute one aspect of the reports of the chaplains.
Others include criticism of the lack of services in areas like bereavement, step-down facilities on release from prison, the means and use of punishment within the system and basic absence of human rights in some areas of incarceration.
The response by the prison service appears to be that it is best that these observations don’t get a public airing, or, at the very least, that the job of chaplains is fashioned in such a manner that it might encourage them to fit into the system rather than point out its flaws.
A number of reports point to the working conditions of chaplains now in which nearly all the prisons are short-staffed. A number of those working remain on short-term contracts, some after more than three years working full time. The overall sense of frustration that is obviously felt across the system is best expressed in the chaplain’s report for Limerick Prison.
“The Prison Rules 2007 highlight the significance of prison chaplaincy,” the report states. “However, as prison chaplains we feel very deeply concerned about our place in the IPS. We feel seriously undermined by the extraordinary pay cuts of approximately 40% in prison chaplains’ salaries in 2013 and by ongoing HR issues; this explains why the majority of chaplains joined Fórsa in recent years. We expect all IPS chaplains (not only some) to be treated at least as well as chaplains in other areas in the public service.
"Beyond that, we would like to see some recognition of the security risks and serious responsibilities associated with the role.”
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said chaplain resources have increased over the last five years.
“The Irish Prison Service is currently engaging with Fórsa [trade union] regarding chaplains' terms and conditions and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment at this time,” he said.
However, the chaplains' reports point towards a system in which their work is undervalued, possibly because they offer independent eyes and ears behind the prison walls.
If putting the squeeze on those who advocate independently for prisoners — and the staff — is the de facto approach to dealing with some major problems within the system, it is inevitable that things will only get worse.
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