2.0 THE EXISTING PRISON SYSTEMIn 20

2.0 THE EXISTING PRISON SYSTEM
In 2003 the Afghan prison population was approximately 3000. The detention conditions at that time were well below any international standards and in particular ISMR and LPDC. The main deficiencies were:
• Lack of space for inmates in cells
• Lack of secure exercise areas
• Lack of professional training for penitentiary staff
• Lack of water supply or access to nearby supplies
• Lack of power and heating
• Lack of basic sanitation facilities – toilets, washing area or showers
• Poor general prison security conditions which encouraged prison staff to keep inmates within a section continually.
• Lack of ventilation – this problem is linked to heating. During the winter detention areas were sealed by improvised means, severely restricting fresh air supply.
• Very poor lighting was and is commonplace for the inmates especially during the winter months.
• Heating was often supplied by the local bukhari heater, (a fuel fired heater with an external flue, preferred fuel is generally diesel or timber) This heater is not suitable for prisons as the security is compromised and ventilation and fumes are uncontrolled.
• No or very inadequate visiting facilities, this limited and restricted access of visitors who often support inmates.
• No areas for education or vocational training. Figure 4:Pol-e-Charki Damaged prison -
• Very little facilities or equipment for medical Now the high security wing
health care
• Kitchen facilities generally did not exist, cooking was carried out on improvised fireplaces generally outside or partially undercover. Additionally food storage was not identified.
• Very few prisons had facilities for juvenile detainees. In some cases these facilities were in separate sites or sites being privately owned rented houses. Additionally juveniles were often detained with non-juvenile inmates.
• In 2003 female inmates were very low in number (approximately 30 No). Often they were, and still are housed inappropriately within the same compound as men. Generally the building was separated to some degree between women and men.
To inflame the above deficiencies, the general capacity of the Central Prisons Department (CPD) prison guards was low, due to poor or non-existent equipment and lack of training.


Figure 5:Gardez prison damaged wing - now repaired
































Figure 6:Gardez toilets inside the section































Figure 7:Kabul male detention centre dormitory prior to works
3.0 INTENT
Our intent and aims in proceeding with prison construction and rehabilitation projects in Afghanistan are as listed bellow;
• Create a “master design” for provincial prisons able to be implemented countrywide at the provincial level and handed over to the Afghan government.
• Design prisons that comply with ISMR for treatment of prisoners which are reflected within the LPDC.
• Meet all applicable building standards, local if existing or alternatively by adopting a foreign standard commonly used within Afghanistan.
Build capacity in Afghanistan among national staff and national construction companies is a high priority, building technical knowledge and skills in prison design and construction. Only national contractors and local materials1 are being used. Only if not available are some materials procured
internationally.
• Design and construct prisons suitable for all local customs and social habits.
• Construct sustainable buildings, able to be maintained and operated well into the future by the Afghan people in line with their financial resources and abilities.
• Foster development of new technology within the prison service and construction industry.
• Design and construct / rehabilitate prisons with physical characteristics that discourage bad prison operational practices.
• Design prisons that encourage prison staff to fully utilise facilities and space such as exercise yards and visit areas that are easy to access and secure.

All of the above requirements must be merged within the currently available funds (donor funds committed). Additionally construction of the facilities must be suitable for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to implement and manage with their own funding in future.




Figure 8:Pol-e-Charki new high security compound for serious drug offenders












1
In many instances materials are imported buy procured on the local market, in the case of a specialty fixture or component being
required the local contractor has been assisted to import the item from the closest and most economical source
4.0 INITIAL APPROACH
Upon commencement of our projects UNODC and UNOPS held discussions with MoJ and CPD. Additionally we carried out inspections of many existing prisons and made detailed observations of these facilities. Both of these activities resulted in a joint assessment of the requirements for prisons in Afghanistan. As the designs developed, further discussion with the CPD was held to develop designs most suitable for the Afghan needs and in line with CPD expectations and capacity.

We found discussion within planning and design meetings less effective than expected. As construction commenced the CPD adopted an interactive role and provided additional cooperation to the prison construction program. This method was the most productive way for us to find the Afghan needs and resulted in productive debate. The disadvantage was costs incurred from delay and changes made to the design during the ongoing construction work.

All meetings with the Afghan authorities were held with the relevant documentation able to describe the planned activities. Information such as 3 dimensional drawings, floor plans and cost estimates, plus other supporting documents were shared with the Afghan authorities. We realised during construction that our methodology was insufficient for developing a common understanding within the CPD and MoJ of the desired goals. Even though our dialogue was undertaken with senior staff of the CPD and MoJ, at that time technical expertise was absent within the CPD. We realised the existence of this gap later during construction. The CPD now have in house technical staff which is receiving technical support from CSSP (Correction System Support Program – U.S. Department of State / INL Program). This newly established unit should enhance the abilities of the CPD in assisting future development of prison construction and rehabilitation. This new capacity will assist future projects through an increased common understanding between international bodies and the Afghan authorities. Priority should be given to train and support the new CPD technical staff.




Figure 9:3D image of the proposed new Gardez medium security provincial prison

5.0 AFGHAN PRISON DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
Design criteria or briefing information along with relevant building codes and developed practices were non-existent upon commencement of this program. We collected along with MoJ and CPD, information enabling us to design prisons suitable for the Afghan people. This information and knowledge was and is continually updated and expanded due to the capacity of the CPD and MoJ increasing along with the increasing capacity of the national construction industry. We collected throughout this program more knowledge of the Afghan prison service and related social and religious aspects that must be taken in account when dealing with prisons in Afghanistan.

Along with the above factors other external constraints effected construction design and budgets. Inflation has been rampant and uncontrolled in Afghanistan. its rapid escalation was not fully predicted. The first significant result from inflation within the building sector was the marked and rapid price increase of cement, bricks, other materials plus manual labour. In addition the changing and generally deteriorating security environment created further difficulties for construction. Movement of people and materials become problematic. Security escorts and convoys were required causing unpredicted expense and time delays. Deteriorating security creates many more problems for construction such as closure of sites, additional and site security required, limited travel time available, more expensive equipment required. Our construction program was designed to maximise activates prior to the harsh winter. Due to the delays we were forced to continue construction into the winter or to stop work. For instance concreting, brick laying, rendering, drainage works and water supply can not be carried out in winter. If the building enclosure is not completed prior to winter internal works that were to be carried out during winter are postponed. This extension of construction program increases construction cost dramatically.

Other factors that effected our construction plan and related cost estimates in Afghanistan are:
1. Land acquisition in some cases delayed commencement of construction considerably.
2. City power supply not being available at the existing and or new sites identified.
3. Water supply as above

Heating was, and still is a real point of concern. Heating is unavailable for most buildings in Afghanistan but especially for prisons due to their secure nature. The heating issue is interconnected with the lack of public utilities in Afghanistan plus the lack of financial resources for funding of diesel or alternative power generation.



6.0 GENERAL TECHNICAL FINDINGS
Throughout implementation of our projects we have found the following to be accepted and workable findings for Afghan prisons.

Generally we have found the best concept of design for Afghan prisons is to keep the prison simple and “fully manual” with little or no reliance on electronic surveillance, locking, fire and smoke detection or cell call. We realised the fully manual and