"The all-out security approach will increase recidivism": prison rehabilitation and probation advisors are up in arms against Darmanin's policy

On the one hand, the thunderous, untimely and populist announcements of a Minister of Justice eager to give assurances to the public on his ultra-security policy , on the other the testimonies of agents on the ground, at the heart of the cauldron, who rub shoulders with prisoners on a daily basis. And bump into reality.

At the gathering of advisors from the prison integration and probation services (SPIP) gathered this Tuesday, May 6, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), the dissonance was glaring between the vision distilled by Gérald Darmanin since his arrival at the post of Minister of Justice and the reality described by these social workers responsible for ensuring that prisoners or those serving a sentence in an open environment (on probation, conditional release or under electronic monitoring) have a chance of finding a place in society. And, therefore, of removing the spectre of recidivism.

In front of the gray-fronted building of the Seine-Saint-Denis Spip, opposite the new station on line 14, where the CGT and Snepap FSU have placed coffee and croissants on a table on this day of national mobilization, discussions between agents are lively around the latest measures announced or imposed by their supervising minister: a plan for prisoners to contribute to the costs they incur, the creation of a special confinement regime for drug traffickers (voted in the National Assembly thanks to the votes of the National Rally and the Republicans), the cessation of all "fun activities" in prison that do not concern education, the French language or sport... So many "out of touch" announcements that threaten the exercise of their missions already compromised by a chronic lack of resources.

"What we are being asked to do is to do more with fewer agents and resources," denounces Cyrine El Ajmi, of Snepap-FSU, who cites the training courses that have been cancelled and the collective activities suspended in Villepinte (Seine-Saint-Denis) because they are deemed "too playful" : "As if we had to push the prisoners' heads under water at all costs," denounces the union representative.

"If we want to prevent reoffending, we need to incarcerate prisoners in decent conditions. However, none of Gérald Darmanin's proposals tackle the heart of the problem, which is prison overcrowding and a lack of resources," points out Eneko Etcheverry, prison director for integration and probation (Dpip) in an open environment at the Saint-Denis site and a member of the CGT insertion probation union, according to whom there has been no recruitment for integration probation for three years.

While official recommendations impose a limit of 60 follow-ups per advisor, each agent must now absorb an average of 80 to 100 follow-ups, the union representative continues. "It's unmanageable," underlines Estelle Carraud, general secretary for Snepap FSU and prison integration and probation advisor.

These means do exist, but they are geared solely towards security, according to union representatives. "Today, only the punitive dimension of the sentence is being pursued, and absolutely not the rehabilitative dimension, contrary to everything that studies on the subject reveal. All of this will increase recidivism," points out Estelle Carraud, who announces other days of mobilization.