Coping with prisons? COVID-19 and the functioning of the Polish prison system
International Journal of Prisoner Health
ISSN: 1744-9200
Article publication date: 8 February 2021
Issue publication date: 18 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explain the phenomenon of low incidence of COVID-19 in Polish prisons. This paper addresses three questions: was the Polish prison system ready to respond to the threats posed by COVID-19; what action has it taken in this regard; and with what effect?
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of the current condition of the Polish prison system was undertaken focusing on items that were the focus of prisoners’ complaints, the interventions of the Ombudsman and the bulletins of the Central Board of the Prison Service. This analysis has been juxtaposed with the opinions of experts in epidemiology and medicine and changes introduced in the law relating to prisoners.
Findings
During the COVID-19 epidemic – despite serious chronic problems in the Polish penitentiary system – the statistics indicated that 24 individuals were infected and no deaths occurred. When compared to the statistics of non-prison cases, this result is extremely low.
Research limitations/implications
Given the newness of the problem, the conflicts of different interests, the “double” isolation of prisons (penal and epidemiological) and the reluctance of the prison administration to provide information about what is happening behind prison walls, researchers must rely on statistics and subjective contacts with prisoners, for example, by investigating their complaints.
Practical implications
As a result of the research, the author believes that the transparency of institutions such as prisons should be ensured, primarily expressed in the provision of information to both prisoners and the public relating to methods adopted to prevent epidemics in the context of prison and prisoners.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is to show how prisons have managed in a new, exceptional situation to balance the right to health and personal safety of prisoners and warders, with the right to contact with the outside world and humane living conditions in a closed and doubly isolated space. The findings presented will add value to the knowledge and effectiveness of the prison administration’s reaction and response to an emergency such as an epidemic.
Keywords
Citation
Niełaczna, M. (2021), "Coping with prisons? COVID-19 and the functioning of the Polish prison system", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 267-281. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-09-2020-0066
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited