Procedure and conditions for serving sentences in general regime colonies

People who have never faced trials or serious offenses in their lives have no idea what a special regime colony is like.

Typically, such concepts are only available to qualified lawyers and former prisoners.

But today you and I will be able to figure out this most important issue together.

Definition

What is a special regime colony? It is a penal facility designed to isolate the most violent criminals.

According to Art. 58 of the Criminal Code and Art. 74 of the PEC defines it:

• Particularly dangerous repeat offenders who committed crimes while serving their sentences;
• Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment;
• The so-called “death row” - persons whose death penalty was abolished due to a moratorium;
• Prisoners whom the prison administration decided to place in more stringent conditions of stay.

Article 128 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation. Colony settlements

1. In colony settlements the following serve sentences of imprisonment: a) persons convicted of crimes committed through negligence and who have not previously served imprisonment; b) persons convicted for the first time of committing intentional crimes of minor or medium gravity; c) persons convicted of crimes committed through negligence and who have previously served imprisonment; d) positively characterized convicts transferred from general and strict regime colonies in the manner prescribed by Article 78 of this Code.
2. The persons specified in paragraphs “a” and “b” of the first part of this article serve imprisonment separately from the persons specified in paragraphs “c” and “d” of the first part of this article. In colony settlements, convicts serve their imprisonment under the same conditions.
3. Convicted men and convicted women can be held in one colony-settlement. Convicts who have committed crimes as an accomplice serve their sentences, as a rule, separately.

Conditions of stay

How do they sit on the special regime? Prisoners serving sentences in a special regime penal colony may be kept in ordinary, light, strict or especially strict conditions.

Each of them has unprecedented security measures in place to reduce the likelihood of escape to a minimum.

Strict conditions

Prisoners found to have violated the regime rules of the correctional colony are placed under strict conditions for serving their sentences.

They live in cell-type premises and can:

• Spend a monthly amount of money in the amount of 70% of the minimum wage on the purchase of food and basic necessities;
• Have 2 short-term dates per year;
• Receive 1 parcel and 1 parcel per year;
• Take daily walks, lasting 1.5 hours. However, conversations with other persons are strictly prohibited;
• Work in a separate, specially equipped cell.

For good behavior observed within 12 months, the prisoner can count on transfer to normal conditions of detention.

Normal conditions

They accommodate all convicts who arrived in a special regime correctional colony. According to the legislation in force in Russia in 2022, such prisoners live in dormitories and have the right to:

• Spend monthly money in the amount of 1 minimum wage (debited from your personal account) on the purchase of food and basic necessities;
• Participate in 2 long-term (up to 3 days) and 2 short-term (up to 4 hours) dates per year;
• Receive 3 parcels (up to 2 kg) and 3 parcels or parcels (up to 20 kg) per year;
• Take daily one-and-a-half-hour walks (for good behavior, the time spent in the fresh air can be increased to 2 hours).

Having lived in normal conditions for at least a year and without receiving a single administrative penalty, the convicted person can be transferred to favorable conditions of detention.

Lighter conditions of special regime

If a prisoner serving a sentence under normal conditions does not violate the order established by the administration of the correctional institution, he may be transferred to a light regime.

Compared to the previous 2 options, it assumes more comfortable living conditions:

• Accommodation - in a dormitory;
• Monthly cash expenses – in the amount of 2 minimum wages;
• Dates – 3 short-term and 3 long-term (per year);
• Parcels, parcels and packages – 6 times a year;
• Walks are daily, one and a half hours long.

Any violation of the rules will result in immediate transfer to normal or strict containment conditions.

Particularly strict

A special regime prison with especially strict conditions of detention is intended for the most dangerous criminals.

Since most of them are prone to constant violations, suicides and escapes, increased security measures are in place here.

In such departments, not only generally accepted legislative orders reign, but also their own internal prison rules, controlled by the “supervisor”.

On a note! There are no women's colonies with a particularly strict regime in Russia.

What is the duration of quarantine

Info

The duration of this period is established in the Criminal Procedure Code. It is 15 days. This rule applies to both places of deprivation of liberty and pre-trial detention centers.

Of course, during this period, the diseases that a particular person suffers cannot be identified in every case. Therefore, sometimes this period is extended . This occurs on the basis of a document signed by the head of the correctional institution, and such cases are considered exceptional.

At the same time, a situation cannot be ruled out when, after examination, a person admitted to an institution is immediately sent to a place of general detention ; as a result, the 15-day quarantine is not maintained. In such a situation, one may not notice the diseases from which he suffers.

The difference between a prison and a special regime penal colony

To understand the difference between a prison and a special regime colony, it should be noted that convicts held in a correctional institution of this type cannot be transferred to a regular prison or a colony-settlement. But they may be eligible for parole.

When transferred from another penitentiary institution, they are placed in the same conditions as before. In addition, working prisoners who have the right to annual paid leave cannot spend it outside their colony.

Prisoners sentenced to life sentences live in rooms designed for 2 people. In case of emergency, they can be moved to solitary confinement.

Another feature of a special regime zone is a certain daily routine, which includes personal time, work process, physical activity, nutrition and cultural events.

If prisoners work in several shifts, the daily routine may vary slightly. For those who are in punishment cells, solitary confinement or quarantine, a separate schedule is drawn up.

Peculiarities of keeping women in colonies

As a rule, the word “prisoner” or “convict” is associated with a middle-aged man with a rough voice, speaking in obscene language, who has several convictions behind him, usually “for hooliganism” or “drug use.” But increasingly, the concept of “convict” refers to girls, women who are genetically programmed to be a mother. However, this does not stop them from committing heinous crimes. Thus, the most common crimes among the fair half of humanity are the sale, storage, production of narcotic substances, unintentional murder, and hooliganism.

On the same grounds as for men, namely for committing serious, especially serious crimes, the court can sentence a woman to serve her sentence in a maximum security colony for women, which is not much different from that for men. The conditions for staying in such a colony were created without taking into account the physiological, psychological and other characteristics of the female body. In such an institution, a woman, as a rule, loses social adaptation without moral and financial support, that is, there is almost no opportunity to adapt to life in the wild.

For a woman, imprisonment is much more painful than for a man. This is due to the distance from home, relatives, husband, children, lack of sanitary and hygienic conditions, psychological difficulties of the regime of serving a sentence (lack of personal belongings, uniform uniform, marching in formation). A maximum security women's colony is subject to the same regime requirements: the same number of permissible parcels and visits, work in any type of work is possible, the same disciplinary punishments, including serving them in a punishment cell. It should be noted that men, like women, having spent an average of three to five years in a colony, get used to prison life, so often, after being released, they end up back in prison. Although this does not mean at all that women who have been in the colony are, of course, “the dregs of society,” among them there are often gifted, talented craftswomen and artists.

Differences between special regime and strict regime

How is special regime different from strict regime? The difference is not very big, but it is there.

Russian special regime colonies

How many special regime colonies are there in Russia? Today, there are several penitentiary institutions of this type operating in our country:

• “White Swan” is a Solikamsk prison characterized by extremely strict rules;
• “Black Dolphin” is one of the largest colonies in the Russian Federation, intended for maniacs, rapists and serial killers, all prisoners are under 24-hour video surveillance. Moving around the colony is carried out only with a blindfold, sleeping in the bright light of a lamp; violating the regime is subject to severe punishment;
• Polar Owl , the country's northernmost colony, located above the Arctic Circle, is the final refuge for life-sentence prisoners. It is characterized by harsh conditions and incredibly low temperatures (-40 degrees almost all year round);
• “Black Golden Eagle” is located in the taiga in the north of the Sverdlovsk region. The most famous serial killers of our time are serving their sentences in this institution;
• “Vologda Pyatak” or Russian Alcatraz is located on an island, which eliminates any possibility of escape. Since 1996, prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment have been held here.

Now you know the special regime of imprisonment - what it is, and you can apply your knowledge in practice.

What is quarantine in pre-trial detention centers and prisons?

First of all, it makes sense to define the essential concepts that are discussed in this article.

Info

A place of detention is an institution that maintains a certain regime, which was founded and is now used for the execution of court decisions related to deprivation of liberty.

Such institutions can be one of a number of types, including prisons, correctional institutions of various types of regime and juvenile correctional facilities. At the same time, a pre-trial detention center is an institution in which persons are placed in respect of whom a sentence has not yet been passed (accordingly, investigative actions are still ongoing).

Info

Quarantine in this case is not a medical term, but a concept of a criminal procedural nature. Quarantine means that a person who finds himself in one of the places of deprivation of liberty must undergo a series of procedures, after which he will end up in a regular cell.

What is quarantine in places of detention? Its meaning is a medical examination of a person who has been transferred to this institution. During this process, the presence of symptoms of a number of diseases that can harm the health of other prisoners is determined. In particular, these are tuberculosis and AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, etc.

In addition, during the quarantine examination, special signs that may be present on a given person are discovered, including tattoos and scars.