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TRAINING MANUAL FOR
PRISON STAFF
DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS OF PERSONS DEPRIVED OF
LIBERTY
March 2007 No. 4
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TRAINING MANUAL FOR PRISON STAFF
DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS OF PERSONS DEPRIVED OF
LIBERTY
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Council of Europe
This training manual has been prepared by the following team:
Aleksandra Šatordžija, Psychologist in the Treatment Service, Zenica Prison
Faik Fejzić, Security supervisor, Security Service, Zenica Prison
Miro Prodanović, Deputy Chief of the Security Service, Foča Prison
Vesko Demonjić, Guard, Doboj District Prison
Prison Reform Project Development Manager
Alma Kovačević
This publication may be fully reproduced with a prior consent of the Council of
Europe only.
The Council of Europe wishes to thank the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA) for their financial support, as well as Mr. James McManus,
professor at Dundee University, UK, whose expert knowledge has been
indispensable a quality of this manual.
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Table of Contents
Preface
Untroduction
The Importance of a Good Complaints System
Elements of a good complaint system
Basic Principles of a Good Complaints System
Prerequisites for the Introduction of a Complaint System
COMPLAINTS SYSTEM IN BIH PRISONS
Ordinary complaints
Confidential complaints
Medical complaints
Complaints about Director
COMPLAINTS FORMS
PROCEDURES AND MANNER OF SUBMITTING THE COMPLAINTS
Ordinary complaints
Confidential complaints
Medical complaints
Complaints about Director
SUBMITTING COMPLAINTS BY PERSONS DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY WHO ARE
DETAINED AT THE DETENTION UNIT
REGISTERS
The Way of Keeping the Register for the Ordinary Complaints
The Way of Keeping the Register for the Confidential Complaints
The Way of Keeping the Register for Medical Complaints
The Way of Keeping the Register for Complaints Addressed Outside the Prison
TRAINING OF OFFICIALS FOR THE SYSTEM OF DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS
The Training Results
Work Methods
Staff Training
Staff training chart for the newly-proposed complaints system
Training of Internal Trainers
Training of staff at the second level
Training of the staff at the third level
Training of Health Care Staff
Training Evaluation
Evaluation form
The legend on the terms used
Notes
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Preface
In the BH system of the execution of sentences pronounced for criminal and minor offences,
there is no organised prison complaint system.
Currently, there is an informal system of submitting complaints by the persons deprived of
liberty prisoners in BH prisons, according to which the persons deprived of liberty verbally
address to the prison Director, educators or, to the members of security services at the least
extend. These verbal complaints very often remain inadequately answered, or many even be
unanswered. The current practice in BH prisons is that the majority of complaints are not
responded to in writing.
One of the negative characteristics is that prison Directors and their assistants are very often
too busy resolving prisoners' complaints, while officers, who work directly with prisoners, are
not at all or only a little involved in resolving of the complaints.
In addition to the above, there is no classification of complaints into types, that is, there is no
organised system in accordance with which certain officials would be in charge of a certain
group of complaints. In the majority of cases, complaints are dealt with by the prison Director
and head of the treatment section.
Having in mind all these points, including the need for a transparent and well-arranged system
for complaints of persons deprived of their liberty, the Prison staff training team, in
collaboration with the Council of Europe and local experts experienced in the system of
execution of criminal sanctions, produced a transparent and well-arranged system for
submitting complaints by the persons deprived of liberty. The basis for the procedures
described in this manual was drafted by the Study Team, which work was led by professor
McManus. The Team was comprised of:
Mariofil, Ljubić, Ombudsman BiH
Almedina Karić, Ombudsman BiH Office
Milanko Renovica, Department Chief for building of the State Prison, BiH Ministry of
Rešad Fejzagić, F BiH Assistant Minister
Milutin Tijanić, inspector for the rights of the persons deprived of liberty, RS MoJ
Slavko Marić, Assistant Director for Treatment of the convicted persons, Zenica Prison
Vesko Demonjić, guard, Doboj Prison
Alma Kovačević, Prison Reform Project Development Manager, Council of Europe
This system should ensure fairness and just treatment of persons deprived of liberty and it
should also support the maintenance of order and discipline in prisons. These are three basic
elements which serve purpose of prisons, the resocialization of the persons and returning them
to the society as its useful members.
Whilest we understand that these procedures cannot be applied fully without change of
domestic legislation, we are nevertheless of the opinion that all prison staff should get
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acquainted with how the standards proscribed by the European Prison Rules work in practice.
A large part of the manual can be applied in conformity with the existing legislation
provisions, therefore we leave the prison managements to adjust the procedures to the existing
system and decide on the quantity to be applied. That is why we proposed that the training go
ahead.
Prison staff training team in BiH
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INTRODUCTION
The Importance of a Good Complaints System
By their very nature, prisons are coercive institutions. One group of people, the staff, lock up
another group, the persons deprived of their liberty, usually for 24 hours per day. Many of the
terms and conditions of the imprisoned person are directly controlled by the law, but prisons
law usually has to give to staff a considerable amount of discretion in determining exactly what
the person deprived of liberty will experience. Some of these discretionary decisions are
clearly very important. Thus, the decision on which of the three classes, A, B or C, into which
a sentenced person deprived of liberty is placed – whether and for how long they are allowed
home leave each month, determines one of the most crucial things for the persons deprived of
liberty.
On the other hand, many of the decisions would be seen outside the prison as very minor.
Thus, for example, the order in which persons deprived of liberty are called to attend at
mealtimes might appear a matter of little importance. But if you are the person who is always
called last, and there is little food left or it always cold by the time you are called, this can
become a big issue for you.
There are many issues in the middle of these two examples. Allocation to individual cells or to
particular work parties might raise suspicions of favouritism; availability of hot water for
showers might be a problem; poor provision of toiletries may annoy some people. The list is as
endless as the areas of the persons’ deprived of liberty lives which the prison controls directly
or indirectly.
Of course, a priority concern has to be with staff recruitment, training and supervision, to
ensure that discretionary decisions are taken properly in the first instance. Making decisions
correctly involves not only ensuring compliance with the law and local rules, but also adopting
all the requirements of fairness and accountability in the process. Indeed, it can be more
important to meet the requirement that decisions are seen to be fair than any of the other
requirements. Thus, recorded reasons for discretionary decisions are crucially important so that
everyone can know why a particular decision has been reached and see that it is consistent with
other such decisions. Explaining the outcome fully to the person deprived of liberty will often
prevent any grievance from arising in the first place. Persons have a keen sense of justice, and
it is our job, as upholders of the law, to ensure that we administer justice properly. A good
complaints system will reinforce a good decision making system by acting as a check on
individual decisions and ensuring that they have been made, recorded and communicated in an
appropriate way.
Indeed, no matter how good our decision making processes are, there will be always be some
complaints about decisions. Many people in prison feel totally powerless about their situation
and respond to this by complaining about everything. Others feel victimised a lot of the time
and naturally blame those around them who seem to have all the power. Few people can cope
with the pains of imprisonment without having some complaints, though there will always be
some who, no matter what is done to them, will never complain at all. In a sense, this last
group is the most worrying. It means they do not expect anything from the system, not even
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fairness, and can be a sign that they have opted out altogether from any idea of ever integrating
into the mainstream society. In fact, complaining might be a healthy response to imprisonment,
a normal reaction to having everything around you controlled by someone else, and very little
room for genuine personal autonomy.
Complaints which go unanswered, or not properly answered, can become major sources of
trouble in the prison setting. Most of us will have witnessed disgruntled persons deprived of
liberty eventually rising up against the prison system and expressing their frustration through
violence, damage to property, strikes and other incidents of group disturbance.
Indeed, if we do not have a formal complaints system which allows persons deprived of liberty
to express their, real or imaginary, grievance through a legitimate avenue, they will
undoubtedly find illegal methods of raising the issues. Accordingly it is not only in the
interests of justice and fairness, but also in the interests of good order and discipline that we
have a working and effective complaints system.
Elements of a good complaint system
In order to make its maximum contribution to the good running of a prison, a complaints
system must have the following qualities:
Easily understood: all persons deprived of liberty and staff must be fully conversant
with the system, and designated staff should be available to assist any persons with
literacy problems
Easily available: access to the system should be totally free and easy, with forms
available in residential and work areas of the prison
Strict time limits: written answers to complaints must be given to the person deprived
of liberty within a strict time limit. Where this is not possible, a full explanation should
be given to the person deprived of liberty before the expiry of the time limit, and the
reasons should be recorded separately
Oral hearing: at least at one of the higher levels of complaint, the person deprived of
liberty be entitled to an oral hearing of the complaint, with the possibility of calling and
cross-examining witnesses
Effective investigation: all answers should be the result of effective investigation of
the complaint and should give detailed reasons for the answer
Effective remedy: when a complaint is upheld, the person deprived of liberty must be
afforded an effective remedy
No repercussion: persons deprived of liberty must have an absolute guarantee that they
will not be discriminated against in any way for making formal complaints
Record keeping: copies of all complaints and answers should be retained throughout
the sentence of the person deprived of liberty and central records maintained of the
subject matter of complaints and their outcomes
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Basic Principles of a Good Complaints System
Underlying these requirements are some basic principles which need to be observed to ensure
efficiency in the scheme:
Verbal resolution of complaints: as far as possible, complaints should be resolved
verbally between the person deprived of liberty and the appropriate member of staff
whenever an issue arises. However, a person deprived of liberty may choose not to use
this method, for a variety of legitimate reasons, and it is ultimately the person’s choice
Resolve at lowest level possible: complaints should always be resolved at the lowest
possible level in order to ensure that matters are resolved as speedily as possible and
that all members of staff take responsibility for their part in the process. Having
Directors deal with the majority of complaints both wasted their time and undervalues
the contribution which should be made by all other staff
Full explanations: very often a full explanation of a decision will enable a person
deprived of liberty to accept a decision with which s/he is not happy. The time spent
obtaining and communicating the explanation is thus well spent
Next steps: a person deprived of liberty should always be told when a complaint is not
upheld what the next stage in the complaints process is
An independent element: the principle that “no-one should be a judge in their own
cause” demands that there should be the possibility of moving a complaint outside the
prison at the final stage, to ensure that someone not involved in the prison system has
the opportunity to review decisions taken within the prison.
The tradition in the past has been for persons deprived of liberty to raise their complaints with
prison management, bypassing the everyday staff that they have regular contact with. Many of
the issues which are being raised could easily – and more quickly – be dealt with by the staff
who works with the persons deprived of liberty at all the time. But changing the culture will
require two things:
1. Staff who are willing and able to take on Committee the complaints, conduct a
thorough examination of them and give reasoned replies to persons deprived of liberty
within the time limits prescribed.
2. Persons deprived of liberty who have the confidence in staff to present their complaints
to them in the expectation that they will be dealt with properly.
Accordingly, it is crucial that all staff play a full part in the system.
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Prerequisites for the Introduction of a Complaint System
Before we proceed with elaborating the prerequisites for the introduction of a complaint
system, we need to define the term complaint.
A complaint is a submission of a person deprived of liberty in which s/he expresses his/her
dissatisfaction with any decision or failure to decide, and issues that are fully under jurisdiction
and control of the prison management.
Complaints may be classified as:
Ordinary complaints
Confidential complaints
Medical complaints
Complaints about the prison Director
The prerequisites for the introduction of the complaint system are reflected in the purpose of
punishing, part of which sees punishing as a way to rehabilitate the perpetrator of a criminal
offence. All prison departments should take part in the process of rehabilitation . The process
of rehabilitation should involve all officials working in the relevant departments within a
prison.
Currently, not all prison officials take part in resolving complaints, and the biggest burden is
borne by the treatment department and prison Directors. In most cases, the security service is
excluded from the process. Thus, the AEOs (authorized establishment officers) who work
directly with persons deprived of liberty 24 hours a day, have no part in the system.
The industries service is also excluded from this process, that is, work instructors who also
constitute a very important link in the rehabilitation process.
In the course of visits to several prisons (Sarajevo, Istočno Sarajevo and Tuzla) and interviews
with persons deprived of liberty there, they pointed out that in most cases their complaints
were resolved in their favour, but that the procedure had no time limits and that it varied in
accordance with who the person deprived of liberty in question was. Thus, complaints of
certain persons who were believed to be «more dangerous» were resolved within a much
shorter period of time than those «common» persons deprived of liberty. They also emphasised
the fact that the complaints and replies were submitted and received verbally, and that they
would like that process to be in writing.
They also emphasised that, if the prison is not able to resolve a complaint, they had no one else
to turn to outside the prison, and even if they did turn to a body, they would wait forever for
the answer to the complaint.
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The above mentioned facts form the basis for the introduction of the new complaints system,
and the basis is supported by the European Prison Rules where Part IV title Requests and
complaints, Article 70.1. to 70.7. deals with complaints of persons deprived of liberty.
Requests and complaints
70.1 Prisoners, individually or as a group, shall have ample opportunity to make requests or
complaints to the Director of the prison or to any other competent authority.
70.2 If mediation seems appropriate this should be tried first.
70.3 If a request is denied or a complaint is rejected, reasons shall be provided to the person
deprived of liberty and the person deprived of liberty shall have the right to appeal to an
independent authority.
70.4 Prisoners shall not be punished because of having made a request or lodged a complaint.
70.5 The competent authority shall take into account any written complaints from relatives of a
person deprived of liberty when they have reason to believe that a prisoner’s rights have been
violated.
70.6 No complaint by a legal representative or organisation concerned with the welfare of
prisoners may be brought on behalf of a person deprived of liberty if the person deprived of
liberty concerned does not consent to it being brought.
70.7 Prisoners are entitled to seek legal advice about complaints and appeals procedures and to
legal assistance when the interests of justice require.
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COMPLAINTS SYSTEM IN BIH PRISONS
As we already explained, there are the following types of complaints:
ordinary complaints
confidential complaints
medical complaints
complaints about the Director
Ordinary complaints refer to most issues raised in the prison and directly controlled by the
staff.
Confidential complaints are those about the staff or other persons deprived of liberty or those
which contain sensitive or confidential information, for example; those concerning the health
status of a person deprived of liberty of his/her family. Such complaints require a special
procedure that guarantees confidentiality.
Medical complaints (Complaints about medical or other professional judgments) are those
submissions that require a special expert knowledge on the part of the person dealing with the
complaint. They are also confidential.
Complaints about the Director are complaints about decisions or non decisions of a Director,
as well as his acts or non acts, undertaken towards the persons deprived of liberty.
Term applicant (or a person deprived of liberty) will be used in order to describe any person
deprived of liberty who submits a complaint, regardless if s/he is a prisoner, detainee or a
convicted person.
Ordinary complaints
The vast majority of complaints are about everyday things in the prison – the delayed mail, the
quality or quantity of the food, the desire to change accommodation or work party, the
cancelled visit or whatever – and can appropriately be dealt with in the first instance by an
AEO. It may be that the individual officer has had no part in reaching the decision complained
about, but, as a member of staff, s/he can undertake an investigation and provide an
explanation to the person deprived of liberty about why the decision has been made the way it
has. This will require the officer to make necessary enquiries, perhaps of a senior member of
staff or perhaps simply through the written records on the meetings or conclusions of the body
responsible for the decision. If, in the course of the investigation, the officer considers that
something has not been done correctly, the officer should put this to the person responsible for
the decision and ask for the appropriate solution. The remedy may be a reconsideration of the
matter, a straight revocation of the original decision, an AEOlogy for a mistake or a promise
that the problem will not reoccur. Whatever the outcome, the officer will then present the
decision and an explanation in the way best likely to be understood by the applicant. If the
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applicant’s complaint is being rejected, in full or in part, the officer should also provide the
person with the relevant form to raise the complaint to the next stage. The hierarchy of
complaints is explained in the next section.
In the situation when the staff member who receives a complaint considers that it has been
submitted under the wrong procedure, it is important that it is explained to the applicant. The
person deprived of liberty should be told why it is not an appropriate way and be directed to a
proper way. In ordinary complaints, the procedure of submitting complaints is to be followed
i.e. to start from the lowest possible level to the highest one. Example, if the second or third
level receives a complaint and the first level has been by passed, their obligation will be to turn
the complaint back to an applicant and notify him/her of the obligation to respect the hierarchy
in submitting complaints.
1. First level – officer who directly works with persons deprived of lbierty (authorised
prison officer-AEO). The person deprived of liberty should first refer to the AEO who
works directly with him/her. S/he shall address him in writing and the AEO should
serve the answer on the applicant in writing and within the given time scale.
2. Second level – is comprised of the head of the security service, educator and working
instructor. This level should constitute the Committee of three supervisors at a level
of one establishment. The Committee shall deal with those complaints that are
submitted by the persons deprived of liberty who are dissatisfied with the first-level
answer. At the second level, the applicant may require to orally declare as to the
complaint. The answer shall be served on the applicant in writing and within the
given time scale.
3. Third level – prison Director. The prison Director, if s/he wishes so, may consult
his/her assistants with regard to the manner of resolving the complaint. He may also
decide whether s/he will hear the applicant. At this level, the applicant is not entitled
to oral hearing in itself; it shall be a discretionary decision of the prison Director. The
decision of the prison Director shall be made in writing. Therefore, the prison
Director shall act upon the complaint only when the prior replies failed to satisfy the
applicant (those of the first two levels).
4. External independent body – should all options provided for within the prison be
exhausted, the person deprived of liberty may refer to an independent body outside
the system of the execution of criminal sanctions and measures – ombudsman.
At the meeting that was held on 23 August 2006, the state Ombudsman pointed out that one of
the priority plans of the Office of the Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina is to set up a
special team of experts within the Office of the Ombudsman, which will deal with persons
deprived of liberty.
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Time Scales for answering ordinary complaints
The first level shall resolve the received complaint within 24 hours or, in case of a weekend or
official holiday, within 48 hours. Should the AEO be unable to resolve the complaint within
defined time, s/he shall advise the applicant that his/her complaint may not be resolved within
the given time scale and inform him/her of the time at which the complaint will be resolved.
The second level shall resolve the complaint within 7 days as of the day on which it has been
received.
The third level shall resolve the complaint within 7 days as of the day on which it has been
received.
The external independent body shall resolve the complaint within a reasonable time scale.
Scheme of dealing with ordinary complaints
FIRST LEVEL
AEO, within 24 or 48
hours
SECOND LEVEL
Committee of three supervisors, within 7
days
THIRD LEVEL
Prison Director,
within 7 days
EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT BODY FOR COMPLAINTS
OMBDUSMAN BiH
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Confidential complaints
When a person deprived of liberty considers that the issue s/he wants to raise is particularly
sensitive or confidential, there has to be a system which enables this issue to be raised in a way
which totally respects the person’s confidentiality. The issue might involve revelations about
the person’s sexuality, something about his/her family life or an allegation against a member of
staff in the prison. Such complaints should be sent directly to the Director of the prison in a
sealed envelope which no one but the Director, or, in the Director’s absence, an authorised
deputy, may open. Both the complaint and the answer should be sent in a sealed envelope
marked “Confidential”. It is entirely a matter for the person deprived of liberty to make the
original decision about which complaints to rise in this manner. However, where the Director
considers that the matter is not sensitive or confidential; the Director should return the
complaint, again in a sealed envelope, to the applicant, with an explanation of why it is not
considered appropriate for this route and a recommendation that it be processed through the
normal channels. The Director must adhere to this strictly or the normal complaints process
will be subverted.
1. First level - Prison Director – shall receive the complaint in a sealed envelope and
resolve it. This complaint may be received by an AEO who shall forward it as soon as
possible – immediately – to the competent person (Prison Director), without ever
attempting to open the envelope. The prison Director shall serve the wiritten answer
on the applicant in the prescribed manner, in a sealed envelope.
2. Independent external body for complaints – should all options provided for within
the prison be exhausted, the person deprived of liberty may refer to an independent
body outside the system of the execution of criminal sanctions and measures – BiH
Ombudsman.
Time Scales for answering confidential complaints
The Director is obliged to answer a complaint within 72 hours. If the Director cannot answer
the confidential complaint within time, he is obliged to inform the applicant that the complaint
will not be resolved within defined time scale.
The external independent body will answer the complaint within a reasonable time scale.
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Scheme of dealing with confidential complaints
FIRST LEVEL
Prison Director,
Within 72 hours
EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT BODY FOR COMPLAINTS
OMBUDSMAN BiH
Medical complaints
When a complaint is made about the professional judgment of an independent expert (for
example, a doctor or dentist working in the prison), it is not appropriate for these issues to be
referred to someone who does not have the same profession as the person complained about.
Accordingly, all such complaints, which are by their nature confidential, require to be referred
in the first instance to the establishment’s medical officer. Both the complaint and the answer
should be sent in a sealed envelope marked “Medical information – confidential”. The next
stage in this process is for the issue to be referred to the Director General (head of the
Directorate of Prisons) who should consult the Executive Director for Health∗.
On any occasion where the recipient of a complaint considers that the issue has been raised
through the wrong process, it is important that this is explained to the person deprived of
liberty who has raised the complaint. The opportunity should also be taken to explain why it is
not appropriate and what the appropriate route should be.
1. First level – the Prison Doctor - receives the applicant’s complaint in a sealed
envelope (closed envelope). The answer shall be delivered to the applicant in writing,
in a sealed envelope. This complaint may be received by the AEO who is then
obliged to forward to the person in charge (Prison Doctor) without opening it and
within the shortest possible time scale – immediately. The doctor answers to the
applicant in writing, also in a sealed envelope.
∗
Taking into account that in the the existing system does not recognize the Directorate of Prisons nor the Director
General, we suggest that the training seassons recommend (a) resolution/s on who/which institution could be now
responsible for dealing with such compleints at the second level.
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2. Second level – Director General after having consulted the Executive Director of
Health – if an applicant is not satisfied by the answer of the first level, s/he may
address the complaint to the second level (Director General). The complaint shall be
sent in a sealed envelope. The Director General shall send the answer to an applicant
in writing, also in a sealed envelope.
3. External independent body for complaints – if all of the options within the prison
have been exhausted, the person deprived of liberty may turn to an independent body
outside the system for the execution of sentences pronounced for criminal and minor
offences – BiH Ombudsman.
Time Scales for answering the medical complaints
The G.P.Doctor is obliged to answer a complaint within 72 hours. If the Doctor cannot resolve
the complaint within time, s/he is obliged to inform the applicant that the complaint will not be
resolved within defined time scale. In addition, he has responsibility to inform the applicant of
the time when the complaint will be answered.
The Director General is obliged to resolve the complaint within 15 days, starting from the day
of receipt, except where it is not reasonably practicable to do so.
The external independent body will answer the complaint within a reasonable time scale.
Scheme of dealing with medical complaints
FIRST LEVEL prison doctor,
within 72 hours
SECOND LEVEL
Director General,
Within 15 days
VANJSKO NEZAVISNO TIJE
OMBUDSMAN BiH
EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT BODY FOR COMPLAINTS
OMBUDSMAN BiH
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Complaints about Director
It is clearly not appropriate in a hierarchical organisation for complaints about the Director of
an prison to be referred to a member of staff who is responsible to that same person.
Accordingly, we need a mechanism which allows complaints about the head of the prison to be
referred to that person’s line manager in the Ministry. It is especially important that the
Ministry develops a robustly independent way of handling these complaints and adheres to a
strict timetable in answering them. It is particularly important that they do not simply contact
the Director and relay whatever answer the Director gives to the Ministry without checking on
this to some extent.
The Ministry officer in charge (Assistant Minister for execution of criminal sanctions) is
obliged to examine the circumstances, facts and grievances stated in the complaint and to
provide the applicant by the answer in writing within 30 days.
The complete complaint is turned to a person deprived of liberty in a sealed envelope. The
envelope needs to be addressed to the person deprived of liberty concerned.
If a person deprived of liberty is not satisfied by the answer of the Ministry, s/he may refer to
an external independent complaints body – Ombudsman BiH.
1. first level – the Ministry officer - the Assistant Minister for execution of criminal
sanctions. The applicant shall address to the officer in writing and the officer should
provide the applicant by the answerin writing within 30 days.
2. external independent body for complaints – once the first level has been exhausted,
the person deprived of liberty may turn to an independent body outside the system of
the execution of sentences pronounced for criminal and minor offences – BiH
Ombudsman.
Time Scales for answering complaints about director
The Assistant Minister is obliged to resolve a complaint within 30 days.
The external independent body will resolve the received complaint within a reasonable time
scale.
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Scheme of dealing with complaints about Director
FIRST LEVEL
Assistant Minister for the execution of criminal sanctions,
Within 30 days
EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT BODY FOR COMPLAINTS
OMBUDSMAN BiH
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COMPLAINTS FORMS
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Form CP1
PRISON TITLE
REFERRAL OF COMPLAINT TO THE AEO
Name and family name ____________________________________no __________________
Date of Birth _____________Location/pavilion ___________ unit ________room ________
EDL __________________Sentence length ________year/s ________months_______days.
PART A - FOR COMPLETION BY THE APPLICANT
Please state your complaint.
Applicant’s signature Date______________
PART B - FOR COMPLETION BY THE AEO
Signed Date __________________
Name in BLOCK CAPITALS ________________
The time framework for answeris 24 hours (48 while week-end)
You have a right to refer your complaint to the Committee of three supervisors if you are
dissatisfied with the answer from the AEO.
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Form CP1
REFERRAL OF COMPLAINT TO THE COMMITTEE OF THREE SUPERVISORS
PART C - FOR COMPLETION BY THE APPLICANT
Please state why you are dissatisfied with the answerfrom the AEO.
Do you wish to be heared by the Committee of three Supervisors? YES/NO
Do you wish anyone to assist you? YES/NO If so, who?
Please indicate whom you wish to call as a witness(es), and why:
Applicant’s signature Date __________________
PART D - FOR COMPLETION BY THE COMMITTEE OF THREE SUPERVISORS
Names of the Committee members
Date__________
IN BLOCK CAPITALS Signatures
1.__________________________________ ______________________________
2.__________________________________ ______________________________
3.__________________________________ ______________________________
The time framework for answer is 7 days.
You have a right to refer your complaint to the Prison Director if you are dissatisfied with the
answerfrom Committee of three supervisors.
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Form CP1
REFERRAL OF COMPLAINT TO THE DIRECTOR
PART E - FOR COMPLETION BY THE APPLICANT
Please state why you are dissatisfied with the answer from the Committee of three supervisors
Applicant’s signature Date
PART F - FOR COMPLETION BY THE DIRECTOR
Signed Date
Name in BLOCK CAPITALS
The time framework for answer is seven days.
You have a right to refer your complaint to the BiH Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied with the
answer from the Director.
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Form CP2
CONFIDENTIAL ACCESS
REFERRAL OF COMPLAINT TO THE DIRECTOR
Name and family name __________________________________________no __________________
Date of Birth ______________ Location/pavilion ________________ unit ________room ________
EDL ___________________ Sentence length ___________year/s ________months_______days.
Please enter the details of your complaint and forward in the sealed envelope provided.
NOTE: The Director if of the opinion that the complaint is not of an exceptionally sensitive or serious nature, he shall inform
the applicant without delay that the complaint must be submitted to the first level and that the applicant has to respect
the complaints system and Director shall return the written complaint in a sealed envelope.
Applicant’s signature Date _________________
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Form CP2
PART B - TO BE COMPLETED BY THE DIRECTOR
Please give a reasoned answer to the applicant’s complaint outlined overleaf. If you do not consider the complaint
to be confidential, you should indicate this on the form and return it to the applicant in a sealed envelope.
Signed Date __________________
Name in BLOCK CAPITALS
The time framework for answer is three days.
You have a right to refer your complaint to the BiH Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied with the
answerfrom the Director.
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Form CP3
PRISON TITLE
CONFIDENTIAL ACCESS
REFERRAL OF MEDICAL COMPLAINT TO THE PRISON DOCTOR
Name and family name _________________________________________no __________________
Date of Birth _______________Location/pavilion _______________ unit ________room ________
EDL ___________________ Sentence length ___________year/s ________months_______days.
PART A - FOR COMPLETION BY THE APPLICANT
Before you make a complaint in writing, please consider speaking to the Prison Doctor. It may be much easier to
resolve your complaint by discussing the matter. However, if you decide to write, please enter the details of your
complaint and hand it in the sealed envelope provided marked “Medical Details – Confidential” to an AEO who
will convey the complaint to the prison doctor. Your complaint will be treated in confidence.
Applicant’s signature Date
26
Form CP 3
PART B - TO BE COMPLETED BY THE PRISON DOCTOR
Please give a reasoned answer to the applicant’s complaint outlined overleaf and return in a sealed envelope
addressed to the applicant and marked “Medical details – Confidential”.
Signed Date
Name in BLOCK CAPITALS
The time framework for answer is three days.
You have a right to refer your complaint to the the Director General if you are dissatisfied with
the answer from the Prison Doctor.
27
Form CP3
PRISON TITLE
REFERRAL OF MEDICAL COMPLAINT TO THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
PART C - FOR COMPLETION BY THE APPLICANT
Please state why you are dissatisfied with the answer from the Prison Doctor and put your complaint with Parts A
and B in the sealed envelope. Address the envelope to the Director General of the Directorate of Prisons marked
“Medical details- Confidential”. Hand the envelope to an AEO who will convey the complaint to the address
indicated.
Applicant’s signature Date
28
Form CP 3
PART D - TO BE COMPLETED BY THE THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
Please give a reasoned answer to the applicant’s complaint outlined overleaf and return in a sealed envelope
addressed to the applicant and marked “Medical details – Confidential”.
Signed Date
Name in BLOCK CAPITALS
The time framework for answer is 15 days.
You have a right to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman BiH if you are dissatisfied with
the answer from the Director General.
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Form CP 4
PRISON TITLE
REFERRAL OF COMPLAINT ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Name and family name _______________________________________No __________________
Date of Birth ________________Location/pavilion ______________ unit ________room ________
EDL ___________________ Sentence length ___________year/s ________months_______days.
Please enter the details of your complaint and forward to the Assistant Minister of Justice of BiH, in the sealed
envelope provided.
Applicant’s signature __ Date _________________
Attachemnts to the complaint:
____________________________________________________________________________
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Form CP2
PART B - TO BE COMPLETED BY THE ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR
EXECUTION OF CRIMINAL SANCTIONS
Please give a reasoned answer to the applicant’s complaint outlined overleaf.
Signed Date
Name in BLOCK CAPITALS
The time framework for answer is 30 days.
You have a right to refer your complaint to the BiH Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied with the
answer from the Assistant Minister for execution of criminal sanctions.
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PROCEDURES AND MANNER OF SUBMITTING THE COMPLAINTS
With regard to submitting written complaints, it needs to be emphasized that the complaint
forms must be available to the persons deprived of liberty in any time. The issue of form
availability must be resolved by each prison, and supplies of forms should be available in
residential and work facilities, namely, those areas that persons deprived of liberty may enter at
any time and take the forms whenever they want to. If it is not possible to provide the forms in
this way, the forms should be kept by AEOs, who are obliged to provide the requested form to
a person deprived of liberty upon his/her request. What must be avoided by all means is that a
person is deprived of the access to the complaint forms for any reason.
Should a problem of any nature arise, it will be desirable to resolve the issue verbally, through
a discussion between the applicant and a staff member. However, if s/he wishes so, the
applicant may opt for filing a written complaint, as it is his/her right and ultimate resort.
Should s/he opt for this manner of resolving his/her issue, the applicant must not be exposed to
torture or any other manner of oppression for having filed a complaint.
When filing a complaint, the applicant needs to fill in Forms No. 1, 2, 3 or 4 (depending on the
type of complaint) by first entering his/her particulars in Part 1 as follows:
Prison title - full designation of the prison in which the person is serving a
sentence of imprisonment or detention. (if the prison does not have the forms
with a printed-in header);
Name and family name – full name and family name in legible print letters;
No – personal identification number under which the person serving a sentence
of imprisonment or detention is recorded;
Date of birth – clearly written accurate date of birth;
Location/pavillion - the number of the pavilion where located (if in institution
with no pavilions, the person shall enter the section where located, for example
section for convicted or detained), in the section;
Unit – the number of the group or treatment group where currently assigned;
Room – the number of the room where currently assigned;
Estimated date of libertation/release – the exact date when the sentence of
imprisonment or detention lapses;
Sentence length – the exact duration of the sentence (years, months, days).
On entering these particulars, the applicant will fill in the Part A, in which s/he will enter, in
legible handwriting, a full account of an event or act or failure to act, which in his/her opinion
has affected his/her status that is guaranteed to him/her in the course of the sentence. Finally,
the applicant signs the complaint and inserts the date of its submitting.
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Ordinary complaints of persons deprived of liberty
First level procedure (dealing with complaints received by the AEO)
As we have already emphasized, there is a wide range of complaints and we shall deal with
each of them in turn. We shall start with submitting, proceed with their receipt and
investigation and finally elaborate on how to provide an answer and return the complaint to the
applicant.
In case of an ordinary complaint, the AEO shall follow the following procedure, i. e. undertake
to:
1. receive every complaint submitted by an applicant;
2. record the complaint in the Register of Ordinary Complaints;
3. Inform the person submitting the complaint of the date on which the answer is due, and,
should s/he be unable to do it within the given time scale, the reasons of delay;
4. determine relevant allegations expressed in the complaint;
5. investigate the allegations expressed in the complaint and records any data that may
contribute to a positive answer to the complaint;
6. insert the information obtained during the investigation, in the section of the complaint
form provided for the answer;
7. delivers the complaint with the answer to the applicant
Submitting the ordinary complaints
After the applicant has filled in the complaint section in the manner described above, s/he
needs to decide whom to submit it, which is, which AEO will receive his/her complaint and
answer it. As a rule, the receiving AEO is obliged to respond in writing.
After the AEO has received a complaint, s/he is obliged to check whether it has been
completed properly and whether all required particulars have been duly entered, as described
above. Should the complaint be incomplete or should certain information be missing, the AEO
shall draw the attention of the applicant to the fact that s/he needs to enter all required data, and
shall not receive the complaint until the applicant has inserted the data as required.
After the AEO has received a properly filled-in complaint, s/he shall inform the applicant of
the date on which the answer is due. Generally, the answer to an ordinary complaint must be
provided within the time limit of 24 hours or 48 hours in case of a weekend or holiday. Should
the AEO be unable to answer within the given time limits, he shall inform the applicant of the
reasons thereof within the defined time scale. Such reasons may include leave of absence, sick
leave, etc., in which case the applicant may file his/her complaint to another AEO of his
choice, who is then obliged to answer the complaint. Should the applicant insist on submitting
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his/her complaint to the AEO who is unable to answer within the defined time scale although
the applicant has been acquainted with the reasons of the delay in answering his/her complaint,
the AEO shall receive the complaint and answer it once s/he has returned to work.
Registering Receipt of the Ordinary Complaints
After s/he has received the complaint, the AEO is obliged to register it into the Register Book
of Ordinary Complaints in the prescribed manner. What must be avoided by all means is that a
complaint goes unrecorded or misplaced by the AEO. On registering the complaint, the AEO
shall examine and extract all relevant pieces of information from the complaint, then initiate
the investigation the purpose of which is to establish the facts that have led to raising the issue,
and check whether the allegations contained in the complaint are grounded or not and how to
eliminate the causes of the complaint.
Investigating the ordinary complaints
In some case, it will be possible for the AEO to answer the complaint on the basis of
knowledge he already has. Thus questions about routines and processes within the prison,
including any failures in normal practice, should be able to be answered reasonably easily. In
many cases, however, it will be necessary to do some research. It all depends on the subject
matter of the complaint.
Much of the information which will be required will be found on the prisoner’s individual file.
All staff have access to these files. Each decision made about the prisoner should be recorded
here. All such decisions should be reasoned. If any decision is not reasoned, or if the reasoning
is not clear, the AEO should refer to the person or body which made the decision and find out
from that source what the reason for the decision was.
It is a matter for the AEO to decide what investigation needs done. This will often be a
challenge to the officer’s knowledge and experience, but it is also an opportunity to learn more
about all aspects of the prison and the persons deprived of liberty. If, in the process of
investigation, it appears to the officer that a mistake has been made, the s/he should attempt to
remedy the problem. This may involve approaching senior staff with authority in the area and
putting the issue to them with a suggestion for a solution, if appropriate. Thus, if an AEO finds
that a mistake has been made, s/he should ask whoever made that mistake to remedy it and
report the remedy to the person deprived of liberty.
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Answering to ordinary complaints
There is a strict time limit for answering to all types of complaints, which may be departed
from only under exceptional circumstances. As we have noted earlier, in any situation of delay,
the AEO should inform the applicant of it and of the estimated time of providing the answer.
All answers must be fully reasoned. It does not mean that the reasons should be discussed at
length, but must provide an answer to the complaint as well as reasons for such answer in the
form the person deprived of liberty can comprehend. Should a prior mistake be detected, the
answer will also contain an instruction as to what to do in order to remedy it, that is what the
person deprived of liberty is to do to make the mistake good.
The answer must be provided in writing one copy of which will be delivered to the applicant.
The other copy of Form 1 should be kept on the prisoner's personal file (if it relates to a
detainee, a complaint file can be formed). A Register Book of ordinary complaints shall be
established in personal records to be maintained by the officer in charge. The said Register
Book shall contain the third copy of all ordinary complaints of persons deprived of liberty. One
member of the mid-management staff should review all constituent sections of Form 1 once a
week.
The AEO shall fill his/her answer in Part B of Form 1, in legible handwriting, which is a result
of the investigation s/he has conducted in relation to the complaint. When inserting the answer,
s/he must be sufficiently prudent, as each answer must be corroborated with the facts that must
be stated as well. Should an inappropriate answer be given, without any investigation or
examination of the allegations contained in the complaint, it would have a negative bearing on
the AEO who has answered the complaint.
It needs to be noted that the AEO has to support his/her answer with solid reasoning as to why
s/he has answered the complaint the way s/he has. This will possible only if an investigation
has been conducted, if all causes of the complaint have been studied, if the AEO has provided
an adequate answer and undertaken relevant actions with regard to the complaint. It is only in
this case that the AEO can be confident that his/her will not be damaging to him/her and
prisons/he works for.
Finally, the AEO writes in his name and family name in legible print letters, inserts the date on
which the answer is being forwarded to the applicant and signs the form.
Delivering a complaint completed by the AEO
The AEO who has provided the answer will deliver it directly to the applicant. On delivering
the answer, the AEO will inform the applicant of the reasons that have contributed to giving
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the answer as it stands, as well as of the measures that he has undertaken in order to prevent
any future re-occurrence of the allegations contained in the complaint.
Dealing with complaints at the second level
(acting upon complaints received by the Committee of three supervisors)
Should the applicant be dissatisfied with the answer delivered by the first level, i. e. the AEO,
s/he may refer to the second level - Committee of three supervisors. The Committee shall be
comprised of a security supervisor, educator and working instructor. As a rule, this Committee
will rotate, that is, e. g. the security supervisor shall be the one from the unit the applicant is
located within (or if the applicant is a detainee, then the one working in the detention unit);
also, in case of the convicted unit, the educator should come from the group the applicant is
assigned to, whereas the working instructor will be the one who supervises the applicant's
execution of his/her work tasks).
The person may be referred to the Committee when the AEO is unable to resolve the cause of
the complaint and therefore has referred the applicant to this Committee. In this case, there
must be strong arguments that the AEO has been unable to do anything about the filed
complaint. Should the applicant omit the first level and turn direct to the second level or any
other higher level for any reason, those levels shall return the complaint to the applicant
advising him/her that s/he is obligated to abide by the complaint submitting system.
If the complaint submitting procedure has been duly complied with, the applicant who has been
delivered a fist level answer shall state the reasons for his/her dissatisfaction with the AEO's
answer by entering them in Part C of Form 1. At this level, the applicant is entitled to request
to verbally present his case and be heard by the Committee of three supervisors to the
allegations contained in the complaint. The applicant shall write in the statement section of the
form whether s/he wants to be heard or not. Should s/he wish so, the Committee is obligated to
hear him/her, and should s/he state the opposite, s/he will not be heard by the Committee.
In the second part, the applicant may state whether s/he needs assistance and if s/he states s/he
does, then s/he must name the person who will be helping him/her with his/her complaint. That
person may be the AEO or any other person whom the applicant must state in the relevant
section (e. g. any other person deprived of liberty). S/he must write in the name and family
name as well as position of the person who will be helping him/her in the course of the
Committee's dealing with his/her complaint.
Finally, the applicant may list any witnesses s/he wishes to invite as well as the reasons for
witness hearing. Should s/he list witnesses, the Committee is obligated to hear them before a
decision on the submitted complaint. The applicant then signs the form and inserts the date on
which the complaint is being referred to the second level.
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Registering receipt of the ordinary complaints referred
to the Committee of three supervisors
On receiving the complaint, the Committee of Three Supervisors shall check whether it has
been recorded in the relevant Register Book, since the applicant is obligated to attach the form
with the AEO's answer to the form sent to the Committee of Three Supervisors. The
Committee is obligated to record the complaint it has received down in the section in the
Register Book of Ordinary Complaints. The complaint shall not be recorded as a new one, but
shall be recorded in the section for the Committee’s entry next to the AEO's entry (see in the
chapter related to registers). The Committee shall note in the given section that the applicant
has turned to the Committee as well as the date of referral. On registering the complaint, the
Committee shall examine and extract all relevant pieces of information from the complaint,
study the answer delivered by the AEO and then initiate the investigation the purpose of which
is to establish the facts that have led to raising the issue and its referral to the second level, hear
the applicant and witnesses and check whether the allegations contained in the complaint are
grounded or not.
Investigation of a complaint to be conducted by the Committee of three supervisors
In some cases, the Committee of Three Supervisors will be able to answer the complaint on the
basis of their prior knowledge. This refers to routine questions about penitentiary procedures,
including any omissions in the common practice, omissions the AEO may have made while
providing his/her answer. However, in many other cases it will be necessary to launch an
investigation, which will depend on the subject matter of the complaint. This investigation
should be more detailed and complex than the investigation conducted by the AEO before s/he
delivered his/here answer to the complaint.
Most of the information, which will be required, can be found on the prisoner’s personal file.
All staff has access to these files in which every decision concerning the person deprived of
liberty should be recorded. Every such decision needs to contain a statement of reasons. If a
decision does not contain such statement of reasons or if the reasons are vague, the Committee
will advise the applicant as to the reasons for making such decision. It will be possible to do so
if the applicant states that s/he wishes to be heard by the Committee. If not, the answer will be
elaborated in detail in the section provided for the answer.
In addition, the Committee's investigation may be complemented by hearing the witnesses that
the applicant has stated, the statements of whom may contribute to a successful resolution of
the complaint. The Committee's decision shall reflect the statements of the said witnesses.
37
Answering the complaint by the Committee of three supervisors
There is a strict time scale for answering all types of complaints. In this case, the Committee of
three supervisors shall strictly abide by the time limit for resolving the complaint, which is 7
days. It will not be possible to extend the time limit as is the case with the first lrevel answers.
All answers must be fully reasoned. It does not mean that the reasons should be discussed at
length, but must provide an answer to the complaint as well as reasons for such answer in the
form the applicant can comprehend. Should a prior mistake be detected, the answer will also
contain an instruction as to what to do in order to remedy it, that is. What the person deprived
of liberty is to do to make the mistake good.
The answer must be provided in writing one copy of which will be delivered to the applicant.
The other copy of Form 1 (one) should be kept on the prisoner's personal file (if it relates to a
detainee, a complaint file can be formed). The third copy will be kept in the Register Book of
Ordinary Complaints. One member of the mid-management staff should review all parts of
Form 1 by reviewing the Register Book of all ordinary complaints at least once a week.
The Board's conformed answer shall be inserted into Part D of Form 1, in which one member
shall insert in legible handwriting the answer that is a result of the investigation conducted by
the Committee with regard to the submitted complaint. When filling the answer, the Committee
must be sufficiently prudent, as each answer must be corroborated with the facts that must be
stated as well. Should an inappropriate answer be given, without any investigation or
examination of the allegations contained in the complaint, it would have a negative bearing on
the members of the Committee that have answered the complaint.
It needs to be noted that the Committee has to support its answer with solid reasoning as to
why it has answered the complaint the way it has. This will be possible only if an investigation
has been conducted, if all causes of the complaint have been studied, if the Committee has
provided an adequate answer on the basis of actual facts. It is only in this case that the
Committee can be confident that their answer will not be damaging to its members and prison
they work for. Also, it needs to be noted that the answer to the complaint must be reached by
the consensus of the Committee. A quality answer should be a logical outcome of the
investigation conducted by the Committee of three supervisors with regard to the complaint.
Finally, the Committee’s members write in their names and surnames in legible print letters,
insert the date on which the answer is being forwarded to the applicant and sign the form.
The Committee of three supervisors shall convene at least once a week and resolve complaints
received. Those meetings may be more frequent, depending on the number of complaints
received.
Each prison should organise and set up the Committee of three supervisors for complaints.
38
Delivering a complaint completed by the Committee of three supervisors
The Committee that has answered the complaint may deliver it directly to the applicant. The
answer to the complaint may also be delivered through the AEO working with the applicant.
Dealing with complaints at the third level
(acting upon complaints submitted to the Prison Director)
Should the applicant be dissatisfied with the answer delivered by the Committee of three
supervisors, s/he may turn to the third level, which is represented by the Prison Director.
The applicant may turn to the third level when neither the AEO nor the Committee of three
supervisors have managed to resolve the cause of the complaint and therefore referred the
applicant direct to the third level, as well as in cases when the person is dissatisfied with the
answers provided by the first and second levels. In the former case, there must be corroborating
evidence that the first and second levels were unable to undertake any action with regard to the
submitted complaint, and the proof of evidence must be contained in the answers provided by
these two levels, which shall be written in appropriate sections of Form 1.
Should the applicant circumvent the first and second levels and refer to the third level, it shall
be the obligation of the Prison Director to return the complaint to such person noting that s/he
is obligated to abide by the complaint submitting system.
If the submitting procedure has been duly complied with, i. e. the applicant has received the
answers of the first and second levels, s/he shall enter reasons of his/her dissatisfaction with the
answer provided by the Committee of three supervisors in Part E of Form 1, sign it and insert
the date on which the complaint is being submitted.
Registering Receipt by the Prison Director
On receiving the complaint, the Prison Director shall check whether it has been recorded in the
relevant Register Book, since the applicant is obligated to attach the form with the Committee
of Three Supervisors answer to the form sent to the third level (the Prison Director). The Prison
Director is obligated to record the complaint s/he has received down in the section in the
Register Book of ordinary complaints. The complaint shall not be recorded as a new one; what
shall be recorded is that the Prison Director has received a complaint that fails to have been
resolved by the first and second levels. This will be noted in the section provided for the third
level. The receipt may be registered by the AEO maintaining the Register Book following an
order of the Prison Director.
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Investigation of the complaint to be conducted by the Prison Director
In some cases, the Prison Director will be able to answer the complaint on the basis of his/her
prior knowledge. This refers to routine questions about penitentiary procedures, including any
omissions in the common practice, omissions that the AEO or the Committee of three
supervisors may have made in the course of providing their answers. Most of the information,
which will be required, can be found on the prisoner’s personal file. The Prison Director has
access to all information related to persons deprived of liberty. Should s/he unable answer the
complaint in a quality manner on the basis of the information s/he disposes with, s/he will
initiate an investigation with regard to the allegations contained in the complaint. S/he shall
study and extract all relevant pieces of information from the complaint and carefully examine
if the answers of the AEO and the Committee of three supervisors, are grounded or not and
how to eliminate the causes of the complaint. Then s/he shall initiate an investigation the
purpose of which is to establish the facts that have led to raising the issue, its referral to the
second level and subsequently to the third level, upon which, s/he shall examine in which
manner the witness hearing has been conducted, whether the statements taken from the
witnesses have been considered in the course of designing the answer, and check whether the
complaint is well-grounded or not.
The investigation should result in true information which should constitute the answer to the
complaint. This answer should resolve the problem that is the main cause of the complaint.
Answering the complaint by the Prison Director
There is a strict time limit for answering all types of complaints. In this case, the Prison
Director shall strictly abide by the time limit for resolving the complaint, which is 7 days as of
the day on which the complaint has been received. It will not be possible to extend the time
limit as is the case with the first-instance replies. Should the Prison Director be absent from
the establishment, s/he shall appoint an assistant to resolve the complaints addressed to the
Prison Director in the given period.
All answers must be fully reasoned. It does not mean that the reasons should be discussed at
length, but must provide an answer to the complaint as well as reasons for such answer in the
form the person deprived of liberty can comprehend. Should a mistake made before be
detected, the answer will also contain an instruction as to what to do in order to remedy it, that
is what the person deprived of liberty is to do to make the mistake good. Also, in the process of
answering to the complaint, the Prison Director may decide whether to interview the applicant
or not. The interview shall be a sole discretion of the Prison Director and the person is entitled
to no options here as is the case when the Committee of three supervisors deals with the
complaint. If s/he wishes so, the Prison Director may consult with his assistants, which shall
be his sole decision.
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The answer must be provided in writing one copy of which will be delivered to the applicant.
The other copy of Form 1 should be kept on the prisoner's personal file (if it relates to a
detainee, a complaint file can be formed). The third copy will be kept in the Register Book of
Ordinary Complaints together with the copies of two previous forms.
The Prison Director's answer shall be inserted into Part F of Form 1, in which s/he shall insert
in legible handwriting the outcome of the investigation and collected information with regard
to the submitted complaint. When compiling the answer, the prison Director must be
sufficiently prudent, as each answer must be corroborated with the facts that must be stated as
well. Should an inappropriate answer be given, without any investigation or examination of the
allegations contained in the complaint, it would have a negative bearing on the prison Director
who has answered the complaint. Finally, an explanation is to be provided as to the next step
that may be taken by the applicant should s/he be dissatisfied with the answer offered.
Finally, the prison Director shall write in his name and family name in legible print letters,
insert the date on which the answer is being served on the applicant and sign the form.
Delivering a complaint completed by the Prison Director
The prison Director that has answered the complaint may deliver serve it directly to the
applicant together with oral explanations and advice as to how to proceed with regard to the
issue raised in the complaint. The answer to the complaint may also be delivered through other
officials (AEO, educator, etc.).
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Confidential complaints of persons deprived of liberty
submitted to the Prison Director
Dealing with a confidential complaint
A confidential complaint shall be submitted to the prison Director. Once the applicant has
written his/her complaint, s/he shall seal it in an envelope and hand it to the AEO or educator,
who is then obligated to forward it to the address designated on the envelope. The envelope
must be denoted as “Confidential information”.
In their following the procedure for dealing with the complaints they have received, the AEO
and educator shall:
1. receive any complaint handed in to him by a person deprived of liberty;
2. check whether the envelope containing the complaint is properly sealed;
3. check whether the envelope is denoted as: «Confidential information»
4. check whether the complaint is properly addressed;
5. forward the complaint to the designated address as soon as possible;;
6. the Director to acknowledge the receipt within 24 hours
Submitting the confidential complaint
When the applicant, as described afore, has entered all required data, s/he shall fill in Part A, in
which s/he will enter, in legible handwriting, a full account of an event or act or failure to act,
which in his/her opinion has affected his/her status that is guaranteed to him/her in the course
of the sentence. Finally, the applicant shall sign the complaint and insert the date of its
submitting.
After the person has filled in the section provided for complaint, s/he shall seal it in an
envelope and deliver it to the AEO or educator, who is obligated to forward it. The envelope
should be denoted as "Confidential information" and addressed to the prison Director.
After the prison Director has received the complaint, s/he shall examine whether it is complete
and whether all of the said particulars have been inserted properly, as described above. Should
the complaint be incomplete or not containing any of the particulars, the prison Director shall
return the complaint to the applicant advising him/her that s/he is obligated to supply all
required particulars and note that s/he shall not receive the complaint if the applicant fails to
act accordingly. When the prison Director has established that the complaint is complete, s/he
shall acknowledge its receipt to the applicant. If the prison Director comes to conclusion that it
contains information that is not confidential or that the subject matter of the complaint is not of
extremely delicate or serious nature, s/he shall return the complaint in a sealed envelope with a
note that the complaint must be referred to the first level and that the applicant must abide by
the complaint submitting system.
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Applicants must be informed that filing complaints that are not considered confidential in this
manner will only prolong the complaint resolving procedure and postpone resolving the issue
they have raised.
Registering receipt of the confidential complaints
Upon its receipt, the prison Director shall register the receipt of the confidential complaint in
accordance with the prescribed manner. What must be avoided by all means is that a complaint
goes unrecorded or misplaced. On registering the complaint, the prison Director shall examine
and extract all relevant pieces of information from the complaint, then initiate the investigation
the purpose of which is to establish the facts that have led to raising the issue, and check
whether the allegations contained in the complaint are grounded or not. Complaints of this type
shall be recorded in a separate Register Book of confidential complaints. This Register Book
is itself a confidential document and only Director can have the access to it, as well as the
officer he authorises to do so.
Investigating the confidential complaints
In some cases, the prison Director will be able to answer the complaint on the basis of their
prior knowledge. However, in many other cases it will be necessary to launch an investigation,
which will depend on the subject matter of the complaint.
It will be left to the prison Director to determine what type of investigation is required. This
will often challenge the knowledge and experience of individual officers who might assist the
prison Director in the investigation; however, it can also be viewed as an opportunity to learn
more about all aspects of the prison and persons deprived of liberty. If, in the course of
investigation, the prison Director comes to believe that a mistake may have been made, it
should be him who should try to remedy the problem. The majority of complaints will deal
with delicate issues related to the environment in which persons deprived of liberty and prison
officers live and work.
If the Prison Director assesses that the issue is of delicate nature, it is certain that his/her
inadequate or incomplete answering may cause a series of problems in the functioning of the
establishment. Depending on the gravity of the complaint, the prison Director shall assume the
most acceptable, most expeditious and safest manner of conducting an internal investigation
within the prison with regard to the allegations contained in the complaint.
In such cases, the Prison Director may lead the investigation on his/her own and hear persons
the statements of who may contribute to resolving the complaint. The persons to be possibly
heard may involve both officers working at the prison and persons deprived of liberty. At this
level, the applicant is not entitled to oral declaring as to the complaint; this entitlement shall be
granted by the prison Director at his/her discretion.
43
The investigation must result in a fair answer, which should resolve and eliminate the causes of
the complaint that has been filed.
The prison Director should not base his/her decision solely on the contacts between superior
and subordinate officers, in which the prison Director will seek clarification and opinion of the
subordinate officers with regard to the complaint in question.
Answering the confidential complaints
There is a strict time limit for answering all types of complaints. The time limit for resolving a
confidential complaint shall be 3 days as of the day on which it has been received. The prison
Director shall conduct an investigation and serve the answer on the applicant in writing.
All answers must be fully reasoned. It does not mean that the reasons should be discussed at
length, but must provide an answer to the complaint as well as reasons for such answer in the
form the person deprived of liberty can comprehend. Should a prior mistake be detected, the
answer will also contain an instruction as to what to do in order to remedy it, that is. What the
person deprived of liberty is to do to make the mistake good.
The answer must be provided in writing one copy of which will be delivered to the applicant.
The other copy of Form 2 should be kept in the Register Book of confidential complaints. The
prison Director shall set up a Register Book of Confidential Complaints and file the second
copy of Form 2 therein. This register book of confidential complaints shall be maintained and
kept by the prison Director, and as we already stated, it is to be considered a confidential
document itself.
The prison Director's answer shall be inserted into Section B of Form 2, in which s/he shall
insert in legible handwriting the outcome of the investigation and information collected with
regard to the submitted complaint. Every answer must be corroborated with facts that need to
be stated. Should an inappropriate answer be given, without any prior investigation or
examination of the allegations contained in the complaint, it would have a negative bearing on
the prison Director who has answered the complaint. Finally, an explanation is to be provided
as to the next step that may be taken by the applicant should s/he be dissatisfied with the
answer offered.
It needs to be noted that the prison Director has to support his/her answer with solid reasoning
as to why s/he has answered the complaint the way s/he has. This will possible only if an
investigation has been conducted, facts have been established and an adequate answer has been
given by the prison Director on the basis of true facts. Finally, the prison Director shall write in
his/her name and family name in legible handwriting as well as the date on which the answer is
being served on the applicant and sign the form.
44
At the bottom of the form, there must be a mandatory note informing the applicant that s/he is
entitled to refer to the BiH Ombudsman should s/he be dissatisfied with the answer.
Delivering the confidential complaints
The prison Director who has replied to the complaint shall deliver it to the applicant in sealed
envelope denoted "Confidential information". The envelope must be addressed to the applicant.
The prison Director may deliver the answer direct on the applicant or through an AEO or
educator.
45
Medical complaints of persons deprived of liberty
Dealing with medical complaints
We shall start with submitting, proceed with registering receipt and investigating and conclude
with answering and serving the complaint on the applicant, as we have done the the previous
two types of complaints.
In following the complaint receiving procedure, an AEO, educator or medical technician shall:
1. receive any complaint handed in to him by a person deprived of liberty;;
2. check whether the envelope containing the complaint is properly sealed;
3. check whether the envelope is denoted as: «Health information - Confidential»;
4. check whether the complaint is properly addressed;
5. forward the complaint to the doctor practising at the Prison within as short period of
time as possible;
6. the doctor to acknowledge the receipt within 24 hours
Submitting the medical complaints
When the applicant, as described afore, has entered all required data, s/he shall fill in Section
A, in which s/he will enter, in legible handwriting, a full account of an event or act or failure to
act, which in his/her opinion has affected his/her status that is guaranteed to him/her in the
course of the sentence. Finally, the applicant shall sign the complaint and insert the date of its
filing.
After the applicant has filled in the said section, s/he will seal it in an envelope and hand it in to
an AEO, educator or medical technical, who shall forward it to the competent health
professional – Prison Doctor. The applicant shall write "Health information - Confidential" on
the envelope. S/he may file the complaint direct to the doctor in the afore described manner.
After the doctor has received the complaint, s/he shall examine whether it is complete and
whether all of the said particulars have been inserted properly, as described above. Should the
complaint be incomplete or not containing any of the particulars, the doctor shall advise
him/her that s/he is obligated to supply all required particulars and note that s/he shall not
receive the complaint if the applicant fails to act accordingly. When the doctor has established
that the complaint is complete, s/he shall acknowledge its receipt to the applicant. If the doctor
comes to conclusion that it contains information that is not confidential or that the subject
matter of the complaint is not of extremely delicate or serious nature, s/he shall return the
complaint in a sealed envelope with a note that the complaint must be referred to the first level
as the ordinary complaint and that the applicant must abide by the complaint submitting
system.
46
Registering receipt of the medical complaints
Upon its receipt, the doctor shall register the receipt of the medical complaint in the Register
Book of medical complaints. What must be avoided by all means is that a complaint goes
unrecorded or misplaced by the doctor. On registering the complaint, the doctor shall examine
and extract all relevant pieces of information from the complaint, then initiate the investigation
the purpose of which is to establish the facts that have led to raising the issue, and examine
whether the allegations contained in the complaint are grounded or not.
Investigating the medical complaints
In some cases, the doctor will be able to answer the complaint on the basis of his/her prior
knowledge. However, in many other cases it will be necessary to launch an investigation,
which will depend on the subject matter of the complaint.
It will be left to the doctor to determine what type of investigation is required. This will often
challenge the knowledge and experience of individual doctors and officers who might assist the
doctor in conducting the investigation; however, it can also be viewed as an opportunity to
learn more about all aspects of the prison and persons deprived of liberty. If, in the course of
investigation, the doctor comes to believe that a mistake may have been made, it should be
him/her who should try to remedy the problem. The majority of complaints will deal with
delicate issues related to the environment in which persons deprived of liberty and prison
officers live and work.
If the doctor assesses that the issue is of delicate nature, it is certain that his/her inadequate or
incomplete answering may cause a series of problems in the functioning of the prison.
Depending on the gravity of the complaint, the doctor shall assume the most acceptable, most
expeditious and safest manner of conducting an internal investigation within the prison with
regard to the allegations contained in the complaint.
In such cases, the doctor should conduct an investigation on his/her own with possible
assistance of other health professionals working at the prison. No other prison officer should be
involved in this investigation. The investigation must result in a fair answer, which should
resolve and eliminate the causes of the complaint that has been filed.
A novel task of the said health professionals should be resolving these complaints, which
should be dealt with by full-time doctors as well as doctors engaged on the basis of an
agreement on the performance of work.
47
Answering the medical complaints
There is a strict time limit for answering all types of complaints. The time limit for resolving a
confidential complaint shall be three days as of the day on which it has been received. The
doctor shall conduct an investigation and serve the answer on the applicant in writing and
within the given period.
All answers must be fully reasoned. It does not mean that the reasons should be discussed at
length, but must provide an answer to the complaint as well as reasons for such answer in the
form the person deprived of liberty can comprehend. Should a prior mistake be detected, the
answer will also contain an instruction as to what to do in order to remedy it, which is what the
person deprived of liberty is to do to make the mistake good. Should the complaint be rejected,
the answer should contain a detailed statement of reasons and indicate what the next step in the
process is.
The answer must be provided in writing one copy of which will be delivered to the applicant.
The other copy of Form 3 should be kept in the Register Book of medical complaints, which is
maintained by the Prison Doctor.
The doctor's answer shall be inserted into Part B of Form, in which s/he shall insert in legible
handwriting the outcome of the investigation and information collected with regard to the
submitted complaint. Every answer must be corroborated with facts that need to be stated.
Should an inappropriate answer be given, without any prior investigation or examination of the
allegations contained in the complaint, it would have a negative bearing on the doctor who has
answered the complaint.
It needs to be noted that the doctor has to support his/her answer with solid reasoning as to why
s/he has answered the complaint the way s/he has. This will possible only if an investigation
has been conducted, facts have been established and an adequate answer has been given by the
doctor on the basis of true facts. It is only in this case that the doctor can be confident that
his/her will not be damaging to him/her and prison s/he works for.
Finally, the doctor shall write in his/her name and surname in legible print letters as well as the
date on which the answer is being served on the applicant and sign the form.
Delivering the medical complaint completed by the doctor
The doctor who has replied to the complaint shall deliver it onto the applicant in a sealed
envelope denoted "Health information - Confidential". The doctor may deliver the answer
directly to the applicant or through an AEO, educator or medical technician.
48
Acting upon the medical complaints received by
the Director General
Should the applicant be dissatisfied with the answer s/he has received from the doctor, s/he
may refer to the second level, that is the Director General.
Should the applicant circumvent the first and refer direct to the second instance or any other
level, it shall be the obligation of those levels to return the complaint to such person noting that
s/he is obligated to abide by the complaint submitting system.
If the submitting procedure has been duly complied with, the applicant who has received an
answer from the first level, s/he shall enter reasons of his/her dissatisfaction with the answer
provided by the prison doctor in Section C of Form 3. S/he will also insert the information
relevant to his/her complaint as well as the reasons of his/her dissatisfaction with the answer of
the first level, sign it and insert the date on which the complaint is being filed. After s/he has
completed Part C of Form 3, the applicant shall seal the complaint in a sealed envelope and
deliver it to a prison officer, who shall forward it to the the Director General. The applicant
shall denote the envelope as "Health information – Confidential" and address it to the Director
General. The receiving officer shall examine whether all particulars have been properly written
on the sealed envelope. On forwarding this type of complaint, the competent officer shall
record it in the Register Book of complaints forwarded outside the prison. The officer shall
note down that the complaint has been forwarded to the Director Genral. The envelope shall be
open only by the competent the Director General, who should act upon it, except the person
authorized by him.
On receiving the complaint, the Director General shall consult the Executive Director for
Health on resolving the complaint; they shall study it and establish whether the allegations are
well-grounded. Upon the examination, they will compile an adequate answer to be served to
the applicant.
Investigation of medical complaints to be conducted by the Director General
The very form and manner of investigation shall be organised by the Director General in
consultations with the Executive Director for Health. In some cases, they will be able to answer
the complaint on the basis of their prior knowledge. However, in many other cases it will be
necessary to launch an investigation, which will depend on the subject matter of the complaint.
The investigation cannot solely rest on the opinions of officers of the prison in which the
person serves his/her sentence. It should be based on establishing the allegations contained in
the complaint as well as eliminating of the causes of the issue raised.
49
Answering the medical complaints by the Director General
There is a strict time limit for answering all types of complaints. The time limit for the director
General to respond shall be 15 days as of the day on which it has been received, except where
it is not reasonably practicable to do so.
All answers must be fully reasoned. It does not mean that the arguments should be discussed at
length, but must provide an answer to the complaint as well as reasons for such answer in the
form the applicant can comprehend. Should a prior mistake be detected, the answer will also
contain an instruction as to what to do in order to remedy it, that is. What the person deprived
of liberty is to do to make the mistake good. The doctor's answer shall be inserted into Part D
of Form 3.
The answer must be provided in writing in three copies. One copy will be delivered to the
applicant, the second one – to the Prison Doctor whereas the third copy shall be forwarded to
the prison doctor who shall file it in the Register Book of medical complaints. The Director and
the prison Doctor shall each take any such action as they are required to take to give effect to
any instruction that the Director General may give in relation to the complaint.
Finally, the Director General shall write in his/her name and family name in legible
handwriting as well as the date on which the answer is being served on the applicant and sign
the form.
At the bottom of the form, there must be a mandatory note informing the applicant that s/he is
entitled to refer to the BiH Ombudsman should s/he be dissatisfied with the answer.
Delivering a complaint completed by the director General
The answer may be delivered only in a sealed envelope bearing words "Medical information –
Confidential" and address of the receiving person. The envelope may be opened solely by the
person to whom it is addressed.
The answer shall concurrently be forwarded to the applicant and prison doctor. The replies
shall be sealed in two separate envelopes, both of which shall be packed in a large cover
envelope addressed to the prison Director. On receiving them, the prison Director shall forward
them to the applicant and doctor respectively.
50
Complaints about the prison Director
Dealing with complaints about the prison Director
Complaints about the prison Director shall be filed to the Assistant Minister for execution of
criminal sanctions of BiH. After the applicant has written the complaint, s/he shall seal it in an
envelope and hand it to the officer who is obligated to forward it to the designated address.
In following the complaint receiving procedure, the officer shall:
1. receive any complaint handed in to him by a person deprived of liberty;;
2. check whether the envelope containing the complaint is properly sealed;
3. check whether the complaint is properly addressed;
4. record the complaint in the Register Book of complaints forwarded outside the Prison;
5. forward the complaint to the designated address as soon as possible;
6. the Assistant Minister to acknowledge the receipt to the applicant.
Submitting the complaints about the prison Director
After the applicant has filled in the said section, s/he will seal it in an envelope and hand it in to
the officer, who is obligated to forward it. S/he may file the complaint direct to the Assistant
Minister for execution of criminal sanctions of BiH.
After the Assistant Minister has received the complaint, s/he shall examine whether it is
complete and whether all of the said particulars have been inserted properly, as described
above. If the assistant minister comes to conclusion that it is a complaint which does not
contain information that is the subject matter of the complaint about Director, what means that
the particular complaint does not belong to this kind of complaints, s/he shall return it in a
sealed envelope with a note that the complaint must be submitted according to the procedure
proscribed for such type of complaints.
Applicants must be informed that filing complaints that do not belong to this kind of
complaints will only prolong the complaint resolving procedure and postpone resolving the
issue they have raised.
51
Recording a complaint about the prison Director
On forwarding this type of complaint, the officer shall record it in the Register Book of
complaints forwarded outside the prison, noting down that the complaint has been forwarded to
the Ministry.
Investigating complaint about the prison Director
In some cases, the Assistant Minister will be able to answer the complaint on the basis of
his/her prior knowledge. However, in many other cases it will be necessary to launch an
investigation, which will depend on the subject matter of the complaint.
It will be left to the Assistant Minister to determine what type of investigation is required. This
will often challenge the knowledge and experience of individual officers who might assist the
Assistant in conducting the investigation; however, it can also be viewed as an opportunity to
learn more about all aspects of the prison and persons deprived of liberty. If, in the course of
investigation, the assistant minister comes to believe that a prior mistake may have been made,
it should be him/her who should try to remedy the problem. The majority of complaints will
deal with delicate issues related to the environment in which persons deprived of liberty and
prison officers live and work.
If the Assistant Minister assesses that the issue is of delicate nature, it is certain that his/her
inadequate or incomplete answering may cause a series of problems in the functioning of the
prison. Depending on the gravity of the complaint, the Assistant Minister shall assume the
most acceptable, most expeditious and safest manner of conducting an internal investigation
within the prison with regard to the allegations contained in the complaint.
In such cases, the Assistant Minister may conduct an investigation on his/her own with
possible assistance and hear and take statement from persons the statements of whom might
contribute to resolving the complaint. These persons to be interviewed may be prison officers
and persons deprived of liberty. No other prison officer should be involved in this
investigation. The investigation must result in a fair answer, which should resolve and
eliminate the causes of the complaint that has been filed.
The Assistant Minister's decision cannot solely rest on contacts between the Assistant Minister
– prison Director established in order for the assistant minister to seek explanations and
opinion of the prison government with regard to the complaint in question.
52
Answering the complaints about the Prison Director
There is a strict time limit for answering all types of complaints. The time limit for the
Assistant Minister to respond shall be 30 days as of the day on which it has been received. The
Assistant Minister shall conduct an investigation and deliver the answer to the applicant in
writing and within the given time limit.
All answers must be fully reasoned. It does not mean that the arguments should be discussed at
length, but must provide a answer to the complaint as well as reasons for such answer in the
form the applicant can comprehend. Should a prior mistake be detected, the answer will also
contain an instruction as to what to do in order to remedy it, that is. What the person deprived
of liberty is to do to make the mistake good.
The answer must be provided in writing, one copy of which will be delivered to the applicant
whereas the other copy of Form 4 should be kept in the Book Register of complaints about the
Prison Director maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
The assistant minister's answer shall be inserted into Part B of Form 4. Each answer must be
corroborated with the facts that must be stated as well. Should an inappropriate answer be
given, without any prior investigation or examination of the allegations contained in the
complaint, it would have a negative bearing on the assistant minister who has provided the
answer.
It needs to be noted that the assistant minister has to support his/her answer with solid
reasoning as to why s/he has answered the complaint the way s/he has. This will possible only
if an investigation has been conducted, facts have been established and an adequate answer has
been given by the doctor on the basis of true facts.
Finally, the assistant minister shall write in his/her name and family name in legible
handwriting as well as the date on which the answer is being delivered to the applicant and sign
the form.
At the bottom of the form, there must be a mandatory note informing the applicant that s/he is
entitled to refer to the BiH Ombudsman should s/he be dissatisfied with the answer.
Delivering a complaint about the prison Director
The assistant minister who has answered the complaint shall send it to the applicant in a sealed
envelope. The envelope must be addressed to the applicant.
53
54
FILING COMPLAINTS BY PERSONS DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY WHO ARE
DETAINED AT THE ESTABLISHMENT
So far we have dealt with the types of complaints and manner of their managing. The manner
of filing and managing of complaints apply and are quite clear for convicted persons and
prisoners.
We hope that officers who work with these persons will not encounter any ambiguities when
working with the said groups of persons deprived of liberty. The only problem that may arise
is how to resolve complaints of detained persons.
We shall explain managing complaints of detained persons in the text that follows, since the
complaint system applies to all groups of persons deprived of liberty.
Under Article 104 of the Act on the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, detention and other
measures of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is the Ministry of Justice that is responsible for
monitoring the execution of detention measures.
When an ordinary complaint has been filed by a detainee, the first level shall proceed as
described above. As for the second level, the Committee of three supervisors shall be
appointed by the prison Director, whereas the competent court before which the proceedings
are pending shall be informed in writing at the time when a detainee has filed a complained and
when the complaint has been resolved.
Given the fact that it is only the security officers who work with detainees, it would not be
realistic to expect that these officers should be the only ones who are in charge of resolving
complaints. Should the Committee of three supervisors be composed of security officers only,
the objectivity of complaint resolving may be jeopardised. In this case, we are of opinion that
the decision, that is, the answer, would tend to be made on the personal attitude towards the
applicant and impressions the officer has about the person, which have been obtained in the
course of the treatment. The officer may fail to conduct an investigation with regard to the said
complaint, but to answer it on the basis of their prior knowledge and personal observations.
Therefore, the Committee of three supervisors should be composed of officers from various
departments.
A diverse composition of the Committee of three supervisors shall ensure the absence of
prejudiced resolving of complaints of detained persons and, concurrently, a quality
membership of the Committee, who should resolve any complaint that has reached the second
level in a quality and unprejudiced manner.
Ordinary complaints shall be managed at the third level as described above.
Confidential complaints filed by detainees shall be resolved in the afore described manner.
This system is logical as the majority of complaints coming from the detention unit will be
55
resolved by officers and establishment; similarly, confidential complaints may be resolved by
the prison Director as the detention unit within the prison is under his jurisdiction as well.
The right to health care shall also be exercised by detainees during their stay in the detention
unit. The doctor who practices at the prison shall provide his/her services to all persons
deprived of liberty that are inmates of the establishment. Accordingly, it is logical that medical
complaints of detainees shall be resolved as described.
Complaints about the prison Director submitted by detainees shall also be resolved as
described.
Should a detainee file a complaint about the work of judicial bodies, prosecutor's office or
other entities or individuals that may influence the status of the applicant, such complaint shall
not be managed or resolved. The detainee should be advised that ordinary legal remedies are to
be applied to such complaints, as contained in relevant regulations. On advising the person, a
note should be made that this system applies and functions as an internal system of the
establishment, the purpose of which if to resolve complaints arising from the relationship
between the prison and person deprived of liberty.
56
REGISTERS
The Way of Keeping the Register for the Ordinary Complaints
The register for ordinary complaints should be available to all AEOs. The officer who receives
the complaint should make an entry or this can be done by the AEO who keeps the register
(possibly the shift leader). Issues like: who shall keep the evidence on the complaint, where the
register book for ordinary complaints shall be placed, should be arranged by the prison at the
most acceptable manner.
How to keep the register
The register shall be kept clearly and precisely, there should be no corrections nor any details
entered in the columns should be deleted. All data shall be entered in block capitals and all
numbers shall be the Arabic numbers.
The register is kept in the following way:
In the column titled Ordinal number, we need to enter the number which we use to register the
complaint, enter the Arabic numbers starting from no. one.
In the column Name and family name of the person deprived of liberty we shall write in the
name and family name of a person deprived of liberty, and below, there should be the prison
number.
In the column Status we enter the person’s status what means if s/he is a detainee, prisoner or a
convicted person.
In the column AEO name we enter the name and family name of the AEO who registers the
complaint.
In the column Complaint subject we enter the reason for complaining, i.e. what the person is
complaining about.
In the column Answer date of the first level we shall enter the date of answer provided by the
first level, i.e. date of delivering the answer to the applicant.
In the column Referred to the second level, in the part at the top of the column we shall enter
the note if the complaint has been referred to the second level with the comment “YES” or
“NO”, and then we enter the date of the complaint receipt and its referral to the second level. In
57
the part at the bottom of the column, we enter the answer date of the second level, i.e. the date
of delivering the answer provided by the second level to the applicant.
In the column Referred to the third level, in the part at the top of the column we shall enter the
note if the complaint has been referred to the third level with the comment “YES” or “NO”,
and then we enter the date of the complaint receipt and its referral to the third level. In the part
at the bottom of the column, we enter the answer date of the third level, i.e. the date of
delivering answer provided by the third level to the applicant.
In the column Comment we enter the details closely related to the complaint and the details
about has been positively answered or not.
58
THE FORM OF THE REGISTER FOR
ORDINARY COMPLAINTS to be inserted here
59
The Way of Keeping the Register for the Confidential Complaints
The register for confidential complaints should be available to the Prison Director only and
kept by him. He shall register only the complaints referred to his address and that are
considered confidential. This register for recording the confidential complaints should be
different from the one for keeping the confidential complaints submitted by all persons
deprived of liberty, which is kept by the Prison Director too. This register is confidential
document itself.
How to keep the register
The register shall be kept clearly and precisely, there should be no corrections nor any details
entered in the columns should be deleted. All data shall be entered in block capitals and all
numbers shall be the Arabic numbers.
The register is kept in the following way:
In the column titled Ordinal number, we need to enter the number which we use to register the
complaint, enter the Arabic numbers starting from no. one.
In the column Name and family name of the person deprived of liberty we shall write in the
name and family name of a person deprived of liberty, and below, there should be the prison
number.
In the column Status we enter the person’s status what means if s/he is a detainee, prisoner or a
convicted person.
In the column Prison Director’s name we enter the name and family name of the Prison
Director or his Assistant who will answer the complaint while Director’s absence.
In the column Complaint subject we enter the reason for complaining, i.e. what the person is
complaining about.
In the column Date of the complaints receipt we shall enter the date of the receipt by the
Director.
In the Column Answer date we shall enter the day of submitting the answer to the applicant.
In the column Comment we shall enter the details closely related to the complaint ex. justified,
non-justified etc.
60
THE FORM OF THE REGISTER FOR
CONFIDENTIAL COMPLAINTS to be inserted here
61
The Way of Keeping the Register for Medical Complaints
The register for medical complaints shall be the possession of the prison doctor and it should
be kept by the Prison Doctor. He should register only those complaints referred by the persons
deprived of liberty to him/her (directly). This register for recording the medical complaints
should be different from the one for keeping the medical complaints submitted by all persons
deprived of liberty, which is kept by the Prison Doctor too.
How to keep the register
The register shall be kept clearly and precisely, there should be no corrections nor any details
entered in the columns should be deleted. All data shall be entered in block capitals an all
numbers shall be Arabic numbers.
The register is kept in the following way:
In the column titled Ordinal number, we need to enter the number which we use to register the
complaint, enter Arabic numbers starting from no. one
In the column Name and family name of the person deprived of liberty we shall write the
name and family name of a person deprived of liberty, and below, there should be the prison
number.
In the column Status we enter the person’s status what means if s/he is a person deprived of
liberty, convicted person or a prisoner.
In the column Doctor’s name we enter the name and family name of the doctor who registers
the complaint.
In the column Date of the referral we enter the date when the complaints was received by the
prison doctor.
In the column Complaint subject we enter the fact on want the person is complaining about.
In the column Answer date we shall enter the date of delivering the answer to the applicant.
In the column Comment we shall enter the details closely related to the complaint ex. justified,
non-justified etc.
62
THE FORM OF THE REGISTER FOR
MEDICAL COMPLAINTS to be inserted here
63
The Way of Keeping the Register for Complaints Addressed
Outside the Prison
The register of complaints addressed to an institution outside the prison, should be accessible
to all AEOs. The officer who receives the complaint should register it or the one who is in the
posses of the register. Issues like where the register book for the ordinary complaints shall be
placed should be arranged by the prison at the most acceptable manner.
How to keep the register
The register shall be kept clearly and precisely, there should be no corrections nor any details
entered in the columns should be deleted. All data shall be entered in block capitals an all
numbers shall be Arabic numbers.
The register is kept in the following way:
In the column titled Ordinal number, we need to enter the number which we use to register the
complaint, enter the Arabic numbers starting from no. one.
In the column Name and family name of the person deprived of liberty we shall write the
name and family name of a person deprived of liberty, and below, there should be the prison
number
In the column Status we enter the person’s status what means if s/he is a person deprived of
liberty, detainee or a prisoner.
In the column AEO name we enter the name and family name of the AEO who registers the
complaint.
In the column Complaint’s date we shall enter the date of sending the complaint outside the
prison.
In the column The address of the recipient we enter the address of the recipient and the person
who receives it, ex. Assistant Minister for execution of criminal sanctions.
In the column Comment we enter the details closely related to the complaint ex. if the
complaint was forwarded late as well as the reason of being late and date of its sending.
64
THE FORM OF THE REGISTER FOR COMPLAINTS
ADDRESSED OUTSIDE THE PRISON to be inserted here
65
TRAINING OF OFFICIALS FOR THE SYSTEM OF
DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS
When speaking about training of officials for dealing with complaints of persons deprived of
liberty, we must bear in mind the respective objective, i.e. the results we wish to achieve
through the very training.
The Training Objective is: to have trained institution staff following the completion of
training, which will know how to properly act upon the complaint from persons deprived of
liberty or if that is not possible, to direct such a person to a higher level, which would resolve
the mentioned complaint.
The Training Results
for all officials to take active role in dealing with complaints from persons deprived of
liberty;
to take the pressure of the managerial staff in prisons in terms of daily minor
complaints from persons deprived of liberty;
for the officials to know the components of the complaint form and to know how to
enter the answer into the form correctly;
to have the officials know which form is intended for which type of complaint;
for the officials to know that deadlines exist for providing answer to a complaint;
to know how to correctly instruct an applicant deprived of liberty to the next higher
instance, which could resolve specific complaint, in case they are not able to do so
themselves;
to inform the persons deprived of liberty about the existence of a formal system for
submitting complaints, which guarantees the provision of an answer in writing within a
specific time scale for any type of complaint;
to inform the persons deprived of liberty about the system in which hierarchically
separated levels exist in charge of dealing with the complaints;
to inform these persons about the manner of filling out the complaint forms, and to
whom to forward the forms;
for the persons deprived of liberty to know that the system guarantees protection during
serving of the sentence.
Having in mind the mentioned objective of the training, as well as the results originating from
it, we consider that we can achieve these through the following type of training, which will be
carried out by the Prison Staff Training Team in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition, within the training we plan to inform the persons deprived of liberty about the
system of dealing with (filing and answering) complaints.
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Work Methods
The concept of the training is such to have the active learning method as the dominant one,
which implies that trainees, besides learning new theoretical attainments, also do the practical
part of training, which will be realized through workshops. They will get to know the practical
exercises through the respective workshops (see the end of the Chapter on training), as well as
the examples of each type of the complaint forms. The work will be based on group
participation during introduction to practical examples and exercises, when the trainees will
have an opportunity to state own ideas and opinions and to tie the gained experience to knew
knowledge, and thus adopt the new substances easier.
Staff Training
In this system of dealing with complaints submitted by the persons deprived of liberty, we have
anticipated four levels.
The first three levels are represented by the prison officials, the forth level are the members of
an independent body – BiH Ombudsman Office. The Prison Staff Training Team will, directly
or indirectly, train the following:
the first level – AEOs;
the second level –Committee of three supervisors (security supervisors, educators-
treatment officers and work instructors);
the third level – prison directors
We will also conduct the training of health care staff employed in the prisons and enable them
to resolve complaints referring to issues of health treatment within the prison.
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Staff training chart for the newly-proposed complaints system
PRISON
STAFF
TRAINING TEAM
Training per groups (two
groups, two working
days each), four working
days in total
HEALTH CARE
INTERNAL TRAINING THE PRISON STAFF
MANAGERS COMM. of DIRECTORS
THREE SUPER.
Training per groups Two working days Two working days
(three groups, two training training
working days each),
AEOs Persons six working days in
Deprived of total
liberty
Training for two Two days,
working days introduction
per group
Training of Internal Trainers
The BiH Prison Staff Training Team will conduct the training of internal trainers in mentioned
fields. The objective of training is to enable the internal trainers to clearly and uniformly
inform the AEOs in institution about the new manner of dealing with complaints of the
persons deprived of liberty. They will also have the task of informing persons deprived of
liberty of the new system. Since the internal trainers have currently been educated by the
foreign expert, they will also be engaged in the program aimed at the following areas:
reasons for introducing the system of complaints from persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to the overall system of complaints from persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to the for types of complaints in prisons, which can be filed by persons
deprived of liberty;
the manner of filling out the forms by persons deprived of liberty;
resolving the submitted complaints;
importance of adherence to deadlines for providing answers to submitted complaints;
the manner of iforming the persons of the next stage in dealing with complaints;
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the manner of organising training for AEOs in prisons in relation to the system of
complaints submitted by the persons deprived of liberty;
introducing the persons deprived of liberty to the complaints system;
establishing a uniform system of training for all prisons;
Training of staff at the first level – instructions for internal trainers
Upon completion of training of internal trainers, they will return to their respective prisons
where they will conduct the training of the AEOs who constitute the first level.
Considering the number of officials who constitute the first level, and which varies from one
institution to another, the internal trainers will organize groups of 10 to 20 AEOs. Training for
each group will last at least two working days, respectively, as long as needed to master the
new system. The internal trainers will organize and conduct the training in accordance with the
above mentioned areas.
In the introductory part, the trainers will explain to the trainees the reasons for introducing such
a system of dealing with complaints and will stress the need to adhere closely to the new
system.
The exposition will start with explanation of the purpose and objectives of the use of this
complaints system, and of the training objectives: by the end of training to have all the trainees
knowing how to receive complaints and act upon them in the first level, and to know how to
forward the complaints to addressed persons (the Committee of three supervisors, Director,
health care staff, and Ombudsman).
Following that, the trainers will explain the legal provision governing the filing of complaints,
as well as the parts of the European Prison Rules, which provide recommendations to the
prisons on how to act upon complaints.
Following the elaboration of the legal framework, the trainees will receive samples of all forms
and will be given time to read through and analyse them in detail (around 30 minutes, and
more if needed). After the trainees read and analyse the forms, the training managers will
stimulate discussion between trainees, which will be initiated through the following questions:
what do the trainees think of the forms, are any kind of forms in use in their respective prisons,
and generally, how does the system of dealing with complaints function. If some kind of forms
for dealing with complaints already exists, the trainees will be asked about the forms, who
deals with them, how efficient they are, if any deadlines are prescribed for providing answers,
and how does the system function in general. Following that, the trainees will be asked to make
a comparison between such an existing complaints system (forms as well, if they exists), and
the new system to be introduced. Each trainee will be asked to explain the advantages and
flaws of the new complaints system, as well as of the respective forms. They will be asked if
they have ever participated in resolving complaints and to which extent, and if so, have they
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been trained for that, in particular, respectively, have they received instructions from senior
AEOs.
Following these explanations, the trainees will be informed about the advantages of this system
for dealing with complaints: most importantly to provide order and discipline in prisons in
order to avoid riots caused by dissatisfaction of persons deprived of liberty, to protect their
rights as well as the interests of the individuals, to protect the position of the AEOs and other
employees of the prisons, as their answers to complaints will be recorded in order to ensure
uniform manner of resolving complaints and of treatment of prisoners in all prisons in BiH,
which will reduce their dissatisfaction. It will be stressed that the desire of the system is to
maximise the protection of human rights in prisons in a way to always have a written record of
reasons for dissatisfaction of persons deprived of liberty, as well as records on answers, i.e.
offered solutions. Furthermore, the fact will be stressed that this system is highly professional,
as it will involve all levels of prison staff, which will particularly strengthen the
communication between the individual deprived of liberty and the AEO, which will contribute
to abandoning the traditional framework within those relations.
Upon completion of this elaboration, the procedure of investigation of complaint will be
explained, i.e. how the AEO will record the complaint into the register, and what will the AEO
do after receiving the complaint Form 1. Then, we will explain how the AEO would enter other
types of complaints, i.e. the complaint Form 1 which is submitted to the second and third level,
as well as those submitted to health care staff. The trainees will be explained when they can
give direct answer to an ordinary complaint submitted through Form 1 to the first level, when,
perhaps, they will have to consult other officials within the prison when preparing the answer
to complaint, as well as the case when the person deprived of liberty is directed to another level
(e.g. in case when an individual is complaining about designation to a specific classification
group, the AEO will inspect the personal card, but he/she will also consult superior officials
who have direct influence on placement of persons deprived of liberty into classification
groups).
Immediately following these explanations, it is necessary to start with examples for the
practical work of trainees, which the trainers will have prepared in writing. These exercises can
be conducted in couples, as well as in groups. If conducted in couples, one trainee will be
handed the written sample of complaints and he/she will play the role of the applicant, while
the other trainee will play the AEO receiving and resolving the complaint. His/her task will be
to write the proposed answer as well. If the exercises are conducted in groups, then the internal
trainers will distribute to all trainees the written samples of complaints, and all the trainees will
prepare, in writing, the proposed answers along with the steps conducted during investigations.
The trainees will present the answers and their explanations to the trainers, and after that the
trainers will engage the trainees in discussion in order to choose the best solution.
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Examples
1. The applicant submits the following complaint:
“When I was abut to take my weekly shower last evening there was no hot water at all. This is
the third time now in the past two months that that has happened.”
Being the guard to receive the complaint from the prisoner, you get informed through the staff
that was on duty in the past night. Also, you are aware of the usual problems with respect to
supply of hot water. The staff confirm that on that night there were problems, and that hot
water was made available just before the last ten persons took a shower. It seems that the main
problem is the old boiler, which breaks frequently.
Proposed Answer
“Indeed, there were problems with the boiler, which made it impossible for everyone to take a
hot water shower. Efforts are underway to provide funding for the new boiler. In the meantime,
a solution will be found for you and other persons to take the shower tonight.”
2. “My mother came to visit me yesterday and she could not get in. Why?
You are aware that we had a security alarm yesterday due to information that a visitor would
attempt to bring in weAEOns during visit. For that reason all visitors were subjected to
thorough search, which resulted in prolonging the visits to a longer period. It was decided that
all those who came to visit not more than half an hour prior to expiration of visiting time could
not be processed timely and the visit could not be approved therefore. For that reason,
additional visit will be approved for them next month.
Proposed answer:
Yesterday, operational reasons called for special search of visitors. That caused a large delay
in receiving the visits, and some had to go back. The staff has apologized to visitors. All
affected by this will be entitled to additional visit next month.
3. “Why am I still in group “B”?”
Proposed answer:
At the last meting of the Committee of three supervisors your case was considered. According
to the Minutes of Meeting it is evident that you were absent a lot from your working place
lately, and on three occasions you had no justified reasons for absence. In addition, reports
from the Economic Unit indicate that you have not worked diligently. You can get more
detailed information from your educator/treatment officer.
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4 . “I have been recently transferred here from another prison and it seems that I did not
get one fine suit yet. The suit was new and my mother paid 250 KM for it”.
Proposed answer:
According to the records on your clothing, no suit arrived. I telephoned the prison you came
from and asked them to send me a copy f the record on your clothing. Once it gets here, I will
check it and get to you.
5. “I am accommodated in a room with three persons from Mostar, and I would like to be
with somebody from Banja Luka. Why is that not allowed?”
Proposed answer:
You are aware that a principle is established, which does not allow groups to share the room
with persons from just one part of the country.
After completing the exercise, the manager always has to leave sufficient time and space for
potential questions from trainees and for answers. It is necessary to check if the trainees
understand the presented facts, and if they understand what is asked and expected of them.
Their role and significance in the new complaints system should also be stressed, as they will
be the ones to directly receive complaints, but also to answer the ordinary complaints at the
first level.
Another important issue is that the trainees should always have advantage in discussion, before
the trainers give their comments.
Informing the persons deprived of liberty about the new complaints system
After the training of the staff, the internal trainers will inform the persons deprived of liberty
about the new system of dealing with complaints during one day per each unit. This will be
conducted in the manner agreed by the internal trainers and the BiH Prison Staff Training
Team. This way of informing persons deprived of liberty will also contribute to uniformity of
work in all prisons in BiH.
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Training of staff at the second level
Apart from internal training managers, the BiH Prison Staff Training Team will train members
of the Committee of three supervisors, i.e. the group composed of security supervisors,
educators/treatment officers and work instructors.
The training will take two days, and the following areas will be processed:
reasons for introducing the system for complaints of the persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to the overall system of complaints of the persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to the four types of complaints in prisons which can be submitted by the
persons deprived of liberty;
resolving submitted complaints;
importance of adherence to deadlines for providing answers to submitted complaints;
the manner of instructing the persons to the next level in dealing with complaints;
establishing the uniform system of training for all prisons
The training will have an introductory part in which the reasons will be explained for
introducing such a system of dealing with complaints, and the need to adhere to work in
accordance to this system will be stressed.
The exposition will start with the explanation of the purpose and objectives of the use of this
complaints system, and of the training objectives: until the end of training to have all the
trainees knowing how to receive complaints and act upon them at the second level, i.e. when
the applicants are not satisfied with the first level answer, or if the first level does not provide
an answer within the given time scale.
In addition, the second instance members will get introduced to the legal provision governing
the filing of complaints, as well as the clause of the European Prison Rules, which provides
recommendations to prisons on how to act upon complaints.
Following the explanation of the legal framework, the trainees will, in the same order as in the
title Training of the staff at the first level, will receive samples of all forms and will be given
time to read and analyse them in detail, and then a discussion will be initiated with respect to
those issues.
Also, as with the training at the first level, the members of the Committee of three supervisors
will be explained the advantages of this system of dealing with complaints: namely, the fact
will be stressed that this system is a highly professional one because all the levels of the prison
staff will be taking part in it, and the members of this level will have an important role as they
will frequently need to explain to the applicants why a certain decision has been made for a
concrete case.
73
Upon completion of this exposition, we would move to the explanation of procedure during
investigation of complaint, i.e. how the Committee of three supervisors would conduct
investigation upon receiving a complaint, how it would make the decision, and how it would
make an answer to compliant. Also, in case that the Committee, during dealing with the
compliant, identifies that mistakes have been made by the staff in the past or that wrong
decisions have been made, which was the reason for submitting the complaint in the first place,
the irregularity will be established, an attempt made to correct it in that phase, an apology
provided, and possible explanation given for reasons resulting in wrong solution.
Besides the above mentioned, during the training of the members of the Committee, examples
and exercises will be conducted in the same manner as described in the title Training of the
staff at the first level.
Examples
a) State all examples for exercises, as stated in the title Training of the staff at the first
level, just take into consideration that in this case the first level could not provide an
answer or has not provide one within the respective time scale.
b) An applicant is submitting the complaint to the first level:
“I have been placed to the unit 1 room 6. Three other convicts stay in the same room who are
not engaged in any work, unlike me. As I am working in the third shift, it happens often when I
sleep in the morning that they wake me up with loud music, banging of the door, turning up the
TV volume, and such like. That is why I have asked you to move me to room 2 in which three
other convicts stay who are also working in the pant in the third shift, and which has an empty
bed. Why have you not transferred me to the abovementioned room?”
I instance answer:
“Having on mind that I as an AEO am not authorized to resolve such issues, please address
the Committee of three supervisors directly in which your educator is too, who is in charge of
transfer to another room.”
Upon the answer from the first level, the person is addressing to the Committee of three
supervisors with the same request.
II instance answer:
“As you were accommodated in the unit 1 room 6 on 15/5/2006, and you commenced working
on 24/9/2006, and the situation in your room is not adequate for your rest, we will approve
your transfer to room 2 on the day next week.”
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In the same manner as with the training of the second instance, we will make the analysis of
examples and discussion following the exercise.
Following the examples, leave sufficient time and space for potential questions for trainees and
for answers. Here too, it is necessary to ask the trainees if the presented issues are clear to
them, and if they understand what is asked and expected of them.
Training of the staff at the third level
The BiH Prison Staff Training Team will train the prison directors, who make the third level in
resolving complaints submitted by the persons deprived of liberty. The training will take two
days, and the following areas will be processed:
reasons for introducing the system for complaints of the persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to the overall system of complaints of the persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to the types of complaints in prisons submitted by the persons deprived of
liberty;
types of forms for submitting complaints;
introduction to complaints for confidential approach to the prison director;
manners and proper provision of answers by the directors to the submitted complaints;
importance of adherence to deadlines for providing answers to submitted complaints;
the manner of instructing the persons to the higher instance in dealing with complaints;
During training of the prison directors, special accent will be put on confidential complaints to
the prison director (see the Chapter on confidential complaints).
Example
After the first and the second level could not answer his complaint positively, the person
deprived of liberty is addressing to the Director.
“Dear Sir,
I am addressing you with this complaint and I ask for an explanation with respect to it. Why
have I not received an approval form the Treatment Head and yourself to be escorted by the
AEO to visit my mother who is lying ill in the hospital. As I am not using the external
privileges, I am willing to pay the cost of the AEO escort to Brcko. I consider that you not
allowing and not approving this request is violating my rights guaranteed during serving the
sentence. I have addressed the first and the second level that directed me to you. Both levels
did not believe the reason I stated in the complaint in order to justify their refusing the
possibility to visit my mother. My mother is old, she is 76, she has not come to visit me for a
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long time, and I am afraid that she would die without us saying goodbye to each other. I have
addressed the first and the second level and they directed me to you.
I thank you in advance, hoping you will help me.”
Proposed answer:
“Dear Sir, I have checked the statements in your complaints, and I hereby approve to you to be
escorted under the AEO next Saturday, 10/10/2006, to Brcko to see your mother who is
receiving the hospital treatment. The prison will bear the costs of escort.”
Dear Sir,
I have been serving the sentence in the prison since 03/08/2006. I have been sentenced to the
compound sentence 6 months in accordance to the verdict of the Sarajevo canton Court, for the
crime of Unauthorized Production and sales of Narcotics. I have “Hepatitis C” and was a
drug addict. I was treated for drug addiction for a while when I was free. I really want to stop
taking drugs and start with the new life. I am married with two children, and my wife is
unemployed. As it is not possible for me to receive adequate medical treatment here in the
prison, I am asking you to transfer me to the closed type of prison in Zenica where a developed
heath service is in place and where I could get off the drugs.
Thankful in advance!
Proposed answer:
Dear Sir,
Considering the fact tat you have yourself reported to serving the sentence in prison, that you
are sentence for 6 months of imprisonment, that you are serving the sentence in prison for the
first time, that in the rison we have a Prison Doctor, as well as a part-time neuro-psychiatrist,
we find your complaint unsupported and that our prison can provide adequate help in treating
the addiction.
Respectfully Yours.
Example of confidential compliant
Greetings!
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I am addressing you herewith because of the difficult satiation I am in. Ever since I have been
transferred to your prison, I have been experiencing unpleasantness. The convict XY, who is in
my room, is harassing me constantly. Once we are alone he is talking me into giving him
massage, lying down next to him, satisfying him orally. For all this he offers me physical
protection in return, for as long as I stay in the prison, as well as compensation in coupons,
phone cards, and other various items. For my own safety and shame, I could not address
anyone else. I am afraid that XY and the other convicts might discover my intentions.
Therefore, I would like to ask you to invite me to talk to you so I can tell you the details and
that you can transfer me to another unit.
Proposed answer:
Dear Sir!
I have conducted an investigation through the Security and Treatment Departments and have
examined your statements. As of tomorrow you will be staying in the Unit II, since your
statements have proven to be true. XY has been disciplinary processed before and penalized for
physical abuse of weaker convicts.
Respectfully Yours!
Training of Health Care Staff
Besides the training of internal trainers, members of the Committee of three supervisors, and
Prison Directors, the BiH Prison Staff Training Team will also conduct the training of health
care staff working in prisons. During the training, special attention will be dedicated to
complaints pertaining to health treatment. If one considers that there are thirteen prisons in BiH
and that most of them do not have permanent doctors employed, the BiH Prison Staff Training
Team will, besides the full time doctors, also train the part-time doctors. Depending on the
number of health care staff, they will be trained within two groups, during two working days
per a group, and the following areas will be processed:
reasons for introducing the system for complaints of the persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to the overall system of complaints from persons deprived of liberty;
introduction to types of complaints in prisons submitted by the persons deprived of
liberty;
the manners and proper provision of answers by medical staff to submitted complaint;
importance of adherence to deadlines for providing answers to submitted complaints;
the manner of instructing the persons to the higher level in dealing with complaints.
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Example
Dear Doctor!
For a longer period of time now, your medical technician has been avoiding to apply the
therapy which you had prescribed for me. I am 80% war invalid, I had several surgeries, and
amputation. Frequently, I suffered from severe pains and you have prescribed “tramal”. The
prescribed therapy was for 7 days, one “tramal” daily. I have been administered “tramal” on
working days only, and not on weekend. This is the second time now that such an omission is
occurring on the part of medical technicians who are administering the therapies.
Proposed answer:
Dear Sir!
I have checked the statements from your complaint and established that they are justified. The
reason why you have received only 5 ”tramals” is that I have not received a proper list of
people using this therapy, so that the therapy could be prepared timely for the weekend. I am
sorry for the oversight.
Respectfully Yours!
Training Evaluation
Evaluation is a very important part of any training, as the provided feedback from trainees
serves the trainer as a means to evaluate if his/her work has achieved the anticipated objectives.
For that reason, at the end of each individual training an evaluation of the training is
conducted, the result of which contributes to the efficiency of the next raining, as on the basis
of an evaluation the quantity and/or contents of anticipate training can be corrected, as well as
the time required for training, the examples used, the manner of conducting the exercises, and
such like.
At the end of the trainer will ask the trainees at all levels to fill out the evaluation
questionnaires with the aim of most efficient planning of the next training. In addition, the
training managers will keep the evaluation log where they will enter own observations on
78
concrete activities and an opinion on the success of training, as well as the results from
evaluation forms.
79
Evaluation Form for Controlling the Achieved Training Objectives
Please be honest in providing answers to the following questions, as your experiences will
contribute to better planning and more efficient training in future.
1. How satisfied with the training are you?
a) satisfied
b) moderately satisfied
c) unsatisfied
2. Was the training material satisfactory?
a) yes
b) partially satisfactory
c) no
3. The Trainers were:
a) sufficiently prepared and made good training
b) mostly prepared
c) insufficiently prepared
4. Location, time, and working space were:
a) good
b) mostly good
c) bad
5. General atmosphere during training was:
a) pleasant for work
b) occasionally it was strenuous and boring
c) unpleasant for work
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6. Did the tempo of work suit you:
a) it was good
b) it was too slow
c) it was too fast
7. Areas covered by training were:
a) important for the work I do
b) mainly important
c) irrelevant
8. Contents I heard about here will influence on my working differently in the future in
terms of resolving complaints?
a) yes
b) I am not sure
c) no
Explain your answer:
____________________________________________________________________________
9. Have you until now, and in which form, received training on proceedings upon
complaints:
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
10. In your opinion, is continuous training needed in your prison and would it make work
easier in the prisons?
____________________________________________________________________________
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11. If you think that this type of training is needed in your prison, state the best manner
of conducting the training in your opinion?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
12. Your opinion on this type of training (changes, advantages, flaws).
____________________________________________________________________________
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The legend of the terms used
(this is listed in alphabetical order in BH language)
Prison ………………………………… any prison/establishment, district prison or
the detention unit in which the persons deprived of
liberty can stay
Person deprived of liberty ……………any person deprived of liberty regardless s/he is a
detainee, convicted person or a prisoner
Ministry………………………………Ministry of Justice of BiH
Ombudsman BiH ……………………Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH
AEO …………………………………..authorized establishment /prison officer
Applicant …………………………….any person deprived of liberty who submits complaint
Trainee ………………………………a staff member who is being trained for dealing
with complaints
Prison Director ……………………….prison director or the governor of the district prison or a
detention unit
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