Abstract:
The widespread use of video monitoring in many areas of social life brings tangible benefits, such as increasing the sense of security. However, it can create various types of threats, which are especially felt in such specific environments as prisons and pre-trial detention centers. Hence, the aim of the article is to examine the principles of using video monitoring in penitentiary establishments and to learn the opinions of both inmates and prison staff on the use of this type of technical solutions. The main problem was formulated as a question: what are the advantages and disadvantages of the widespread use of video monitoring in the opinion of prisoners and officers of the Prison Service?
Adoption of a specific research goal and problem influenced the selection of research methods derived from both theoretical and empirical methods. The first ones include the analysis of the literature on the subject and statistical data from the sources of the Prison Service, as well as their comparison and determination of trends in the assumed time perspective. Then, generalization and inference were applied, allowing for the derivation of hypotheses subject to empirical verification. The research, which used the diagnostic survey method on a group of 148 respondents - PS officers serving in various penitentiary units, was carried out at the turn of November and December 2020 using an original Google form questionnaire . The theoretical basis for the preparation and conduct of the survey was a report prepared by the Office of the Human Rights Defender in 2012 on video monitoring used in places of isolation, from which the opinions of prisoners on the above issue were obtained.
Video surveillance used in Prison Service facilities generally serves to improve the security of inmates, as it was proved by the results of statistical data studies on extraordinary events committed in prisons and pre-trial detention centers, as well as opinions of inmates. However, it is not accepted by PS officers as a tool for controlling the work of prison staff, which was confirmed by the results of authors’ own questionnaires. The use of the CCTV system in detention facilities should be legally and organisationally regulated in detail, especially with regard to guaranteeing the inmates basic human and civil rights as well as an appropriate level of security and order. On the other hand, video surveillance should be a tool supporting the performance of official duties, and not a system of control and repression against officers, which they are particularly afraid of.
The research results confirm the thesis that the use of video monitoring in such a specific environment as penitentiary institutions is a challenge to which the management and commanding staff of the Prison Service should pay special attention. The obtained results of empirical research indicate a disturbingly high percentage of officers dissatisfied with the use of monitoring for quality control and the manner of performed official duties. They believe that the system should primarily serve to improve the security of the penitentiary unit and counteract dysfunctional behavior among prisoners. In turn, prisoners often do not have adequate knowledge about the monitoring system and pay attention to maintaining the right to privacy, especially in the sanitary areas. Due to the relatively small number of respondents in both research groups, this research should be treated as a pilot, constituting the basis for in-depth research in this area.
