The Independent Union and Civil Servants Central (Csif) denounced this Monday the “Attempted assault and kidnapping of an official” in the penitentiary center Four Camins of Barcelonaas reported in a statement. The events occurred this Sunday and they explain that the inmate had a “violent history and is known for his bad behavior and maladjustment to the prison regime.”
According to the union, at around 4:30 p.m. the worker was alone in the department opening the cells, while another of her colleagues was in the control cabin when the prisoner opened the cells. “held violently” by the neck and kept her at the bottom of his cell.
The Department of Justice has confirmed, but assures that the inmate “tried to retain” the worker, without evidence that it caused injuries. The department adds that the situation “was quickly redirected with help of two inmates and an official”, although the union emphasizes that this intervention prevented the incident from ending in tragedy since the situation in which the official found herself was, literally, critical.
They demand more officials
The Csif emphasizes that the “serious incident reflects the recurring problems that affect Catalan penitentiary centers“and they assure that since the murder in March Núria López In the Mas d’Enric penitentiary center (Tarragona), attacks in this type of modules have multiplied, a factor they attribute to the lack of personnel in yards and modules.
However, the department maintains that the troops are not insufficientin his words, since an increase of 403 officials has been approved, of whom “a large part have already joined positions or as replacements” and they are training 450 more people to reinforce the workforce.
Besides, They deny that attacks on officials have multiplied in Catalan prisons in recent months, since, according to their records, they have gone from 541 in 2023 to 512 so far in 2024.
After this incident, Csif demands that the Department of Justice “immediately” increase staffing in penitentiary centers, implement effective measures to guarantee the safety of workers and review and strictly apply binomial protocols.