Prison workers call for higher security measures, a year after a cook was murdered

It has been one year since a prison cook at Mas d'Enric penitentiary center was murdered by an inmate. A year later, prison workers and unions called for higher security measures to avoid other crimes.

After many years of complaints among unions and staff regarding security measures, the death of the Mas d'Enric chef was the turning point. Many took to the streets and demonstrated against the Catalan justice department.

Several weeks later, the UGT labor union signed a deal regarding security measures, which has been slowly implemented. Meanwhile, unions CSIF and Marea Blava are still calling for more security measures, some of which were not agreed upon.

Among many of the measures approved after the murder of cook Núria was hiring more workers, which would translate to better working and security conditions, as UGT Montse Balaguer told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Overall, 800 new work places will be created.

Balaguer told ACN that having more workers is the "best security measure," as it assures "trust" among employees and prevents violent incidents from inmates.

Approved measures included fixing all cutting cutlery in kitchens and reducing the amount of food needing to be cut. For that, kitchens in penitentiary centers receive most of their food already cut.

Workers, however, are still requesting the use of sprays when they feel attacked by violent prisoners. Despite being used in public transport security teams, sprays are not used in prisons. Workers and labor unions defend the use of such anti-repression mechanisms as a way to avoid physical contact and prevent injuries. They claim they have already used sprays on themselves to test the efficacy.

One of the requests is to implement measures against drones that can bring phones, drugs, and arms to penitentiary centers. They are calling to install phone inhibitors at penitentiary centers and add body scanners to all visitors.

Improved security

The Catalan justice minister, Ramon Espadaler, announced that the ministry is planning to "improve security" among prisons.

Espadaler said so during a Catalan parliament plenary session, one year after the murder of Núria. 

During his speech, he also recalled announcing that prison workers will now be considered law enforcement agents, as he already announced on Wednesday. The measure, however, "will not solve anything by itself," but it will be part of a system improvement, making it more professional.