I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that there is no formal complaints mechanism for a prison officer to make a complaint against a prisoner. If a prisoner is found to be in breach of the Prison Rules, an officer can refer the prisoner to the disciplinary system in place under the Prisons Act, 2007 known as the P19 system. This system allows Governors to impose sanctions where a breach of the rules has been proven to take place.
Such sanction(s) are normally in the format of loss of certain privileges such as reduced phone calls, reduced visits, prohibition on the use of the gym, prohibition on use of the tuck shop etc., for defined periods of time. At the higher end of the scale, Governors can also reduce remission, which in effect lengthens the period of time a prisoner is required to remain in prison.
The table below sets out the number of P19 disciplinary reports issued from January 2020 to June 2022.
Description
|
2020
|
2021
|
2022
(end of June)
|
Number of P19 disciplinary reports issued
|
8,746
|
8,353
|
4344
|