Artículo in InDret by Enara Garro Carrera: Quality of life in Basque prisons: vision and reality.

10-12-2024

The politically motivated violence during the years of ETA’s activity delayed the

devolution of penitentiary matters to the Basque Country. Once it has become

effective, and in the context of implementing a Basque penitentiary model, it is

necessary to analyze the reality of prisons in the Basque Country, as a starting

point to gauge the dimension of the challenges faced in the management of the

same. The article takes as a reference the Measuring Quality of Prison Life+

questionnaire, which measures the quality of prison life of inmates and staff, and

presents the results of the surveys administered in the three penitentiary centers

of the Basque Country, analyzing the key factors that explain them. Although the

data reveal serious problems of infrastructure and reduced staffing levels, which

affect the working conditions of staff, the care received by inmates and the

characteristics of the modules in which they reside, these shortcomings do not

seem to have a decisive impact on the quality of relations within the prison.