Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in Catalonia

Abstract Open prisons are low-security penitentiary institutions in which life conditions are less strict than in closed prisons, and where prisoners have more contact with the outside world. Despite sharing important features, some variations can be found in the model of open prisons in different c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Marta Martí
Format: Article
Language:Danish
Published: De Nordiske Kriminalistforeninger 2021-02-01
Series:Nordisk Tidsskrift for Kriminalvidenskab
Online Access:https://tidsskrift.dk/NTfK/article/view/124777
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841554985266970624
author Marta Martí
author_facet Marta Martí
author_sort Marta Martí
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Open prisons are low-security penitentiary institutions in which life conditions are less strict than in closed prisons, and where prisoners have more contact with the outside world. Despite sharing important features, some variations can be found in the model of open prisons in different countries. This article describes the Catalan open prison model, characterized by the fact that prisoners serve the sentence in full semi-liberty; that is, by day they work and spend time with their families or doing other activities, but return to prison to sleep. As a contribution to the comparative study of open prisons, I describe here how Catalan open prisons are run and discuss the concept of ‘openness’ with reference, above all, to the open prisons that exist in Scandinavian countries. This work shows that the degree of openness of open prisons varies considerably between different countries – therefore approaching community penalties or closed prisons in a greater or lesser extent – and suggests that the role that open prisons are granted in each penal system is part of the explanation.1 1)Marta Martí holds a PhD in Law (Criminology). Currently, she is working as an external consultant for the International Committee of the Red Cross in El Salvador and she is member of the Research Group in Criminology and Criminal Justice System of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain). This article is based on her PhD dissertation, ‘One foot in and one foot out: serving a prison sentence in an open prison’, which was accepted in November 2018 in Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain). The full version of the dissertation (in Spanish) can be found on the following link: https://repositori.upf.edu/handle/10230/36320. This article is part of the project ‘Ejecución y supervisión de la pena: calidad de la intervención, legitimidad y reincidencia’ (DER2015-64403-P), funded by the Spanish Government. Abstract Åbne fængsler har et lavere control-niveau end lukkede fængsler og indsatte i åbne fængsler har mere kontakt til verden uden for fængslet. Trods mange ligheder findes der også en del forskelle imellem åbne fængsler i forskellige lande. I denneartikel præsenteres åbne fængsler i Catalonien. Disse er kendetegnet ved at de indsatte rent faktisk nyder delvis frihed. Det indebærer, at de i dagtimerne går på arbejde uden for fængslet eller tilbringer tid sammen med deres familie eller er beskæftiget på anden måde i lokalområdet. Om aftenen vender de tilbage til fængslet og tilbringer natten dér. I artiklen sammenlignes de catalanske åbne fængsler med åbne fængsler i Skandinavien. Sammenligningen viser, at der er store forskelle i graden af åbenhed i åbne fængsler, nogle steder ligger de tættere på samfunds-straffe og andre steder langt tættere på lukkede fængsler. Der argumenteres for, at en del af forklaringen her på er, hvilken rolle i det samlede nationale straffesystem de åbne fængsler har i forskellige lande.
format Article
id doaj-art-07817de8b1cc4f69a4ec2034842b8b1c
institution Kabale University
issn 2446-3051
language Danish
publishDate 2021-02-01
publisher De Nordiske Kriminalistforeninger
record_format Article
series Nordisk Tidsskrift for Kriminalvidenskab
spelling doaj-art-07817de8b1cc4f69a4ec2034842b8b1c2025-01-08T07:29:37ZdanDe Nordiske KriminalistforeningerNordisk Tidsskrift for Kriminalvidenskab2446-30512021-02-01106221123110.7146/ntfk.v106i2.124777118002Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in CataloniaMarta MartíAbstract Open prisons are low-security penitentiary institutions in which life conditions are less strict than in closed prisons, and where prisoners have more contact with the outside world. Despite sharing important features, some variations can be found in the model of open prisons in different countries. This article describes the Catalan open prison model, characterized by the fact that prisoners serve the sentence in full semi-liberty; that is, by day they work and spend time with their families or doing other activities, but return to prison to sleep. As a contribution to the comparative study of open prisons, I describe here how Catalan open prisons are run and discuss the concept of ‘openness’ with reference, above all, to the open prisons that exist in Scandinavian countries. This work shows that the degree of openness of open prisons varies considerably between different countries – therefore approaching community penalties or closed prisons in a greater or lesser extent – and suggests that the role that open prisons are granted in each penal system is part of the explanation.1 1)Marta Martí holds a PhD in Law (Criminology). Currently, she is working as an external consultant for the International Committee of the Red Cross in El Salvador and she is member of the Research Group in Criminology and Criminal Justice System of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain). This article is based on her PhD dissertation, ‘One foot in and one foot out: serving a prison sentence in an open prison’, which was accepted in November 2018 in Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain). The full version of the dissertation (in Spanish) can be found on the following link: https://repositori.upf.edu/handle/10230/36320. This article is part of the project ‘Ejecución y supervisión de la pena: calidad de la intervención, legitimidad y reincidencia’ (DER2015-64403-P), funded by the Spanish Government. Abstract Åbne fængsler har et lavere control-niveau end lukkede fængsler og indsatte i åbne fængsler har mere kontakt til verden uden for fængslet. Trods mange ligheder findes der også en del forskelle imellem åbne fængsler i forskellige lande. I denneartikel præsenteres åbne fængsler i Catalonien. Disse er kendetegnet ved at de indsatte rent faktisk nyder delvis frihed. Det indebærer, at de i dagtimerne går på arbejde uden for fængslet eller tilbringer tid sammen med deres familie eller er beskæftiget på anden måde i lokalområdet. Om aftenen vender de tilbage til fængslet og tilbringer natten dér. I artiklen sammenlignes de catalanske åbne fængsler med åbne fængsler i Skandinavien. Sammenligningen viser, at der er store forskelle i graden af åbenhed i åbne fængsler, nogle steder ligger de tættere på samfunds-straffe og andre steder langt tættere på lukkede fængsler. Der argumenteres for, at en del af forklaringen her på er, hvilken rolle i det samlede nationale straffesystem de åbne fængsler har i forskellige lande.https://tidsskrift.dk/NTfK/article/view/124777
spellingShingle Marta Martí
Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in Catalonia
Nordisk Tidsskrift for Kriminalvidenskab
title Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in Catalonia
title_full Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in Catalonia
title_fullStr Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in Catalonia
title_full_unstemmed Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in Catalonia
title_short Prisoners in the community: the open prison model in Catalonia
title_sort prisoners in the community the open prison model in catalonia
url https://tidsskrift.dk/NTfK/article/view/124777
work_keys_str_mv AT martamarti prisonersinthecommunitytheopenprisonmodelincatalonia