The prison service is structured around a Directorate-General (DGAP). Colonel Jean-Blaise Komo has been head of the DGAP since 2016. The DGAP is divided into six administrative departments and 12 additional departments - one for each département, or region.

The administrative departments are as follows (Order dated 15 September 2011 establishing the remit and organisation of the DGAP’s services and offices, Article 2):

- finance and logistics department

- sentence enforcement department

- remand prison and corrections department

- social reintegration and judicial outreach department

- information technology department

- human resources department

The different prison regimes are (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 631 and 632): the closed regime, the semi-custodial regime (prisoners are authorised to work outside of the prison) and work release (monitored by prison authorities).

The legislation provides for four types of closed prison facilities (remand prisons, high-security prisons, detention centres and penitentiary centres) and two types of open facilities (semi-custodial centres and pre-release centres). In practice, however, remand prisons are the only type of prison facility. Remand prisons are defined as “detention centres that hold untried prisoners and sentenced prisoners, pursuant to a legal detention order” (Order establishing the remit and organisation of remand prisons, Article 2). In 2022, there were 17 of these facilities: Brazzaville, Djambala, Dolisie, Ewo, Gamboma, Impfondo, Kindamba, Kinkala, Madingou, Mossaka, Mossendjo, Mouyondzi, Ouésso, Owando, Oyo, Pointe-Noire and Sibiti.

Most of these remand prisons, including the centre in Brazzaville, date to the colonial era. Their facilities were not necessarily constructed for the purpose of holding the prison population. Some are merely repurposed garages.

Police stations also serve as de facto detention centres where many people are held for months while awaiting sentencing. As they are not subject to prison legislation, they are not officially monitored by prison authorities.

The capacity of the facilities and the number of people in detention at each facility vary significantly. The country’s largest prisons are: Dolisie (200 spaces, 110 people¹), Brazzaville (150 spaces, 925 people), Ouésso (80 spaces, 92 people) and Pointe-Noire (75 spaces, 456 people).²

The facilities are distributed unevenly across the country, much like its population. The prison population is most heavily concentrated in the two main facilities, located in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.

The legislation provides for a training service for penitentiary staff (Order dated 15 September 2011 establishing the remit and organisation of the DGAP’s services and offices, Article 80).

The content of the training courses is set by the Correctional Code (Articles 40 and 41). All staff members must receive “general and appropriate specialist training that reflects existing best practices based on the observation of facts in the field of correctional science”. These provisions indicate that the prison service must offer training that allows staff members to maintain and improve their professional skills, both upon joining the service and throughout their careers. In accordance with the Correctional Code, the training programme must address, at a minimum, the following topics:

- any applicable national, regional and international regulations

- the rights and responsibilities of prison staff, especially relating to respect for the prisoners’ human dignity, and any prohibited practices, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment

- safety and security, in particular dynamic security, using force and means of restraint, and managing violent people, as well as prevention and de-escalation techniques such as negotiation and mediation

- first aid, the psychosocial needs of prisoners and dynamics specific to the prison system, protection, and social assistance, especially early detection of health issues.

The Correctional Code also stipulates that staff members in charge of certain populations or in specific roles must receive appropriate training.

In practice, these provisions are not implemented. Security staff is not a specialised corps. It is understaffed and its members are undertrained.

Prison officers come from a wide range of backgrounds: members of the armed forces, police officers and gendarmes, teachers, healthcare workers, and civil servants and government officials. Civil society organisations report that this diversity and the lack of specialisation create inconsistency.¹

The prison service enlists military units to offset the shortage of surveillance and security staff.

The International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (Fédération internationale des ACAT, FIACAT) and ACAT Congo note that security staff “does not have any particular status to account for the difficulties and risks they face while performing their duties.” They also highlight the poor working conditions for staff.¹

Civil society organisations report problems related to salary payments (late payment or no payment). They also denounce corrupt practices: guards are reportedly paid by prisoners and their relatives for access to basic equipment and visitation areas.