CCOO reports that this Sunday, around 11:00 a.m., there was a Mass fight in Topas prison (Salamanca)in the television room of module 6, where groups of inmates of Latin and North African origin began to throw chairs at each other, … tables and various objects. The rapid intervention of the center’s workers made it possible to avoid more serious consequences, although it was necessary to apply coercive isolation measures to twelve detainees and transfer two others to the infirmary.
The union declared that the serious incidents which occurred were the direct consequence of “Uncontrolled” increase in the prison population, structural lack of staff and the continued arrival of detainees with “very conflicting” profiles and with degrees of treatment that do not correspond to their actual behavior, reports Ical.
The organization publicly highlighted the “professionalism, serenity and efficiency” demonstrated by staff during a environment which has been defined as “marked by serious conflicts”. “Once again, workers put their physical integrity at risk to contain a situation that could have led to very serious consequences,” they stressed.
The union center assured that the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions had been aware of the situation for monthsbut “still doesn’t act.” As we have explained, the organization has been warning for some time, through writings, meetings and formal communications, against the “unsustainable” increase in the number of detainees at Topas, many of whom are classified as dangerous or with a history of violence, which would saturate the operational capacity of the center. Despite the warnings, they regret that no effective measures have been taken to ease internal tensions.
In the same vein, CCOO denounced that a good part of the detainees who arrive at the center are assigned levels that do not correspond to their real behavior, a practice that they describe as “usual” and which, they assure, compromises security and deteriorates coexistence.
For all this, the organization demanded urgent measuresincluding an immediate reinforcement of the workforce and a reduction in the number of prisoners assigned to the center, adapting it to the human and material resources available.
CCOO insisted that the disruptions in Module 6 “are not an isolated event”, but rather “a clear symptom of the progressive collapse” suffered by the Salamanca prison. He also warned that, without the will to listen to the staff, without strengthening the workforce and without adapting the classification and distribution of prisoners to the reality of the center, this type of episode will be repeated. The union concluded that it would continue to defend the safety, occupational health and rights of prison staff, “raising its voice where necessary so that the risks that Topas Prison staff assume on a daily basis are no longer ignored.”
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