The COVID-19 pandemic in places of detention and its impact on the use of alternative sanctions

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to economic, political and social crises and has also exposed a number of problems in the penitentiary systems of states. The article analyses both the negative and positive consequences of the spread of coronavirus in prisons and pre-trial detention facilities. Overcrowding in prisons remains the most important reason for the increased risk of infection within prisons, leading to violations of prisoners' rights. The paper examines the problems associated with health care and hygiene in prisons. Based on the experience of foreign countries, a comparative legal analysis is made of the range of restrictive measures taken by states due to the pandemic. For example, measures to release convicts in Germany, France and Iran are described; the minimisation of custodial sentences in the UK is noted. The issue of the violation of convicts' rights to receive visits from relatives and close friends, as well as lawyers and representatives of public organisations, is thoroughly investigated. In this connection, particular attention is paid to international instruments guaranteeing the protection of convicted persons against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The entire international community - international organisations such as the UN, WHO, PRI, Human Rights Watch and others - has engaged in addressing these problems. The way out of the crisis is seen in the use of non-custodial measures at all stages of criminal justice administration, including at the pre-trial and trial stages, as well as after sentencing. At the pre-trial stage, it is preferable to impose non-custodial measures and to replace pre-trial measures with alternatives, as appropriate; at the trial stage to impose non-custodial sentences; at the post-trial stage to choose one of the optimal solutions for a given state during an emergency situation: early release (unconditionally), conditional release, temporary release, replacement of the sentence with a milder non-custodial one, as well as amnesty Particular attention is paid to preventive measures taken by the Russian Federal Penal Correction Service and to proposals for improving the legislation and law enforcement activities of the authorities. Given the global trend towards a decrease in the use of imprisonment and an increase in the proportion of prisoners serving sentences without isolation from society, the author proposes reforms in the application of "community" sanctions and measures by creating or strengthening probation systems.