Respect the rules on…
A place to sleep
Reality
Severe overcrowding within prisons and other places of detention (PoD) is a hard fact. It’s displayed for all to see on many social media videos. But it should not be a subject for popular entertainment. Stop and think for a minute: just how horrible must it be to live, and to try to sleep, in such conditions?
Rules
The Nelson Mandela Rules (NMR) are very clear on this subject:
All… sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation.
NMR 13
Response
The construction, capacity and filling of places of detention (PoD) are outside of our control. So there is nothing we can do about climate, window design, ratio of floor space to bunk & toilet space, or number of detainees. But there are some things that we can do to help with heating, lighting and ventilation…
Respect
Document: we put up posters about NMR 13 and the health benefits of temperature control and good lighting, and we code patients’ medical notes if they have suffered as a result of non-compliance with NMR 13.
Demonstrate: we buy fans for cells, give blankets to elderly or sick detainees who (even in the tropics) feel cold, and offer spare light bulbs whenever required.
Discuss: we talk about why air circulation, sufficient light and temperature control are important to human wellbeing. And we praise officials who make their own efforts to improve detainees’ ventilation, temperature regulation and lighting.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?… or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:37-40