Shocking Assault by a Repeat Offender in Brians 1

The safety of prison officers in Catalonia remains threatened by the lack of protocols and resources for self-defense. It is the consequence of an overly protective system that safeguards inmates and leaves workers defenseless. The murder of a cook by an inmate last year exposed the situation, but assaults continue to occur.

The majority union of prison officers, CSIF, has reported a new assault at the Brian 1 Penitentiary Center. The union has warned of the "violence" and "aggressiveness of the assault." "Catalan prisons are not a recreational space or a botanical garden, as our leaders want us to believe," they state in a communiqué.

A dangerous inmate took advantage of the transfer to the medical dispensary to assault three of the officers escorting him. As a result of the assault, they suffered serious injuries that required medical attention. One had a broken nose, another a blow to the jaw, and the third severe bruises.

In their communiqué, the CSIF describes a large amount of blood due to the brutality of the assault. To the point that they thought the inmate had self-harmed.

Multi-Reoffending and Very Dangerous Inmate

The assailant is a first-degree inmate with a long history of violence in different modules and penitentiary centers. He had previously been through the Young Offenders' Prison, Puig de les Basses, and Brians 2. The multi-reoffender was now in closed regime at Brians 1 prison.

The first-degree or closed regime is applied exclusively to dangerous or high-risk inmates. For this reason, they are interned in isolation modules and kept under special surveillance.

This is the reality that prison officers have to face daily. They have to do so with an anti-punitive protocol aimed at preserving the rights of inmates. This regulation forgets the safety of the officers, leaving them defenseless against such assaults.

They Demand a Law to Protect Their Safety

The CSIF praises the professionalism of the assaulted officers, who risked their physical well-being to prevent the incident from escalating. Following the incident, they demand exemplary measures against multi-reoffenders and to increase the security of the staff.

They warn that the sense of insecurity among workers is increasing while the impunity of inmates is unchecked. They demand a bill that recognizes them as law enforcement agents. They criticize those parties that "are only interested in the human rights of the inmates, ignoring those of the workers."