Spain
Capital city — Madrid
Latest updates
The prison service provides personal hygiene products free of charge
yes
Once a month, the prison administration provides a toiletry pack. It includes soap, toothpaste, condoms, lubricant, razors and shaving foam.
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The Spanish Ombudsman notes in his annual report that he received several complaints from incarcerated people concerning poor distribution of hygiene kits.
Number of deaths in custody
252
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An incarcerated person passed away in Basauri Prison in the Basque Country after one week in detention. He was part of a suicide prevention programme. This is the sixth death in the three Basque prisons since the 2021 transfer of jurisdiction and responsibilities to the Basque government.
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Overdoses are the second leading cause of unnatural deaths – after suicide – in detention. Overdose deaths accounted for 43% of unnatural deaths between 2017 and 2021. The Pontevedra, Seville and Cádiz prisons recorded the highest numbers of deaths related to drug use.
Prisoners have access to a television
yes
Televisions are provided in communal areas. Inmates can pay to watch television in their cells.
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The Basque government has expressed a desire to purchase 1,280 televisions for the three prisons it runs in the region. Authorities say this initiative is part of a project to improve prison conditions and reintegration that was implemented following the transfer of responsibilities for these prisons to the Basque government.
Number of medical staff (FTE)
1,540
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) reports, in 2020, a lack of health care staff. The report highlights the lack of nurses and doctors in detention as well as the lack of psychiatrists and psychologists. Overall, the report states poor working conditions for medical staff. The CSIF explains this staff shortage with the low wages for prison doctors compared to those of their colleagues outside of prison.
In August 2022, 67% of vacant posts for doctors in detention were not filled. There are 148 regular posts occupied, 40 temporary posts and 3 student interns, i.e. less than 200 doctors for more than 55,000 detainees. In 2021 and 2022, the Ministry of the Interior opened 80 new posts for health staff. 11 have been filled. The doctors are critical of the precarious nature of temporary contracts, the lack of qualifications and training for temporary staff, and the widespread stress caused by the difficult working conditions.
In Andalusia, 75% of prisons have recourse to private contracts to make up for the shortage of doctors. In May 2023, 65 job posts have been open in the prison medical sector. Cádiz and Seville have 15 vacant posts; Malaga, 11; and Granada, 7.
The Palma penitentiary centre holds 1,000 prisoners. Although the medical staff should include nine people, it is typically only two. This shortage leads to increasingly frequent transfers to exterior facilities, resulting in security and budget problems. The prison facility requested the transfer of healthcare responsibilities to the autonomous communities.
In December 2022, the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions (SGIP) acknowledges a “shortage of medical professionals in certain prisons”, making it impossible to “guarantee the provision of medical care 24 hours a day”. The government is introducing teleconsultations with in-house professionals assigned to other establishments as a response to the shortage.
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The union CSIF criticises the shortage of mental health care professionals at Alcolea Prison (Córdoba).
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The CSIF (Central Sindical Independiente y de Funcionarios), a Spanish public service union, is raising the alarm over the lack of medical personnel at Puerto III Prison. The facility should have 12 doctors, but it only has 3.
Number of prison guards (FTE)
18,232
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The union CSIF reports that Alcolea Prison (Córdoba) has only 50 officers for over 1,280 incarcerated people. The union says the prison needs to double or triple the available personnel.
There is an effective separation between men and women
Mixed facilities are authorised in exceptional circumstances, with the consent of prisoners, for the execution of specific programmes or to maintain family links. Married male and female prisoners can meet in visitor’s rooms specifically equipped for families. These locations cannot accommodate people convicted of crimes of a sexual nature (according to article 99 of the Prison Regulations).
Across the country, 20 mixed-gender units bring together, in November 2023, 202 women and 925 men. Since 2021, the Teixeiro prison (Galicia) has been housing 20 women and 35 men in one of these units. The goal is to better prepare them for reintegration. They eat, work and participate in activities together. Participants in the unit are chosen from volunteers.
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The Basque government declared that it was lawful for Alava Prison to assign two members of a heterosexual married couple to the same cell in an open regime. Rare precedents existed already for homosexual couples
Number of complaints filed by prisoners against the prison service
792
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Although Minorca Prison has the lowest prison population on the Balearic Islands, it receives more complaints than the archipelago’s other prisons. Over the last five years, 256 complaints were filed, for an average of 52 per year. The complaints mainly related to the prison service’s refusal to grant leave or to reclassify prisoners as “third-degree prisoners”, despite repeated requests from the prison’s occupants.
Number of violent acts against prison staff
300
Official statistics put the number of attacks in 2022 at more than 300, double the figure for the previous year.
The union SCIF reports that in 2022, 577 prison officers were victims of serious or minor assault in Catalonia, an increase of 48.6% compared with 2021.
In May 2023, the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) indicated that 90% of attacks on staff seem to be due to poor care management of mental disorders and staff’s lack of training in handling these situations.
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Two prison officers at Ponent Prison in Lleida sustained minor injuries from a prisoner after they separated him from another prisoner during an altercation.
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Over 1,200 prisoners were held in their cells from the evening of Thursday, 14 March to the evening of Saturday, 16 March in three prisons in Catalonia. The prison staff restricted access in response to the killing of a cook by a prisoner. They noted that they were not protesting against the prisoners, but against the poor working conditions created by the Catalonian government. Only essential services were provided, such as food service and medical care. Certain relatives were granted access.
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A prisoner assigned to kitchen work at Mas d’Enric Prison in El Catllar killed the facility’s cook and himself. The event set off a serious crisis among the prison staff. A series of strikes and protests took place around the country. Staff members criticised poor working conditions, staff shortages and lack of security in prisons.
The prison service is required to meet nutritional standards regarding quality and quantity
Meals consist of a starter, main course and dessert.
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The Ministry of the Interior drew up a statement of work estimated at 12.8 million euros to ensure that meals served in prison are varied and balanced, with sufficient portion sizes.
Suicide prevention policies are implemented
yes
A national training programme for prisoners enabling them to support fellow prisoners at risk of suicide has been in operation since 2005. These prisoners are trained by psychologists and have been nicknamed “guardian angels“. The Ombudsman referred to a case of suicide in 2017, in which the individual at risk was placed in an observation cell, with increased supervision and a fellow prisoner to offer support. The individual committed suicide while their companion was asleep. The Ombudsman stressed the responsibility of the penitentiary administration to enact suicide prevention policies and discouraged the delegation of this responsibility to prisoners1. The SGIP has created a suicide prevention programme, which has been implemented in 70 penitentiary facilities under its administration. The DGSP does not have a similar programme but plans to enact one in its prisons2.
Ombudsman, “2017 Annual Report”, 2018, p. 168. (In Spanish) ↩
Ombudsman, “2017 Annual Report of the NPM”, 2018, p. 169. (in Spanish) ↩
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Staff members at Brians 2 Prison initiated the anti-suicide protocol for the football player Dani Alves, who is being held in remand detention.