Prisoners in remand should be able to receive visitors. Even in the case of possible collusion, a restricted selection of visitors should still be allowed. Both the courts and the person or authority in charge of the proceedings are obligated to find individual and, taking into account the reason of incarceration, appropriate solutions for the inmates.

This includes phone calls – every case must be assessed individually. In general, monitoring visits is to be favoured over prohibiting them.

Prisoners in remand are also generally not to be isolated from the other inmates. That would violate international regulations. Exceptions can only be made if there is a risk of evidence being suppressed or if the prisoner poses a serious safety risk for their fellow inmates. In this case, too, it is important to assess every case individually and to regard the principle of proportionality. In practice, however, it is not possible to determine for each inmate individually who they are allowed to be in contact with. A certain degree of generalization is unavoidable in this domain.

So, the prisons in Zurich must find a happy medium: The basic rights of the prisoners must be respected as much as possible. At the same time, the procedures and structures of everyday life at the penitentiary must not be disrupted or inhibited.

Inmates in Zurich’s prisons should have the opportunity to spend a large portion of the day engaging in sensible, useful activities outside of their cells, such as education, exercise, or work. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture demands that convicted offenders as well as prisoners awaiting trial
have different activities available to them for eight hours a day.
Most prisons in Switzerland still seem far away from that objective.

Whether or not apprenticeships and other forms of vocational training reduce the probability of an inmate re-offending is disputed. It is clearer, however, when it comes to basic education. It is meant for prisoners with a low level of education and mainly teaches them abilities such as reading, writing and basic maths, giving the prisoners better chances of avoiding criminal behaviour in the future and finding it easier to integrate into society once they are released. Law enforcement studies on the matter show that the probability of an inmate relapsing can be reduced by up to 20 percent with these educational opportunities.

Unfortunately, there are no such studies for prisoners on remand. And in Switzerland, these educational opportunities are almost solely available to convicted prisoners. Therefore, our goal must be to conduct a scientifically monitored trial in which we offer as many inmates in Zurich’s remand centres as possible these basic educational opportunities.

In Switzerland, all prison staff is trained by the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Prison and Probation SCEPP in Fribourg. They are trained to be all-rounders, with the objective of enabling graduates to work in all different types of correctional facilities.

However, the European Prison Rules state that prison staff is to be chosen and trained in a way that fully respects the special situation and needs of prisoners remanded in custody.

It is true that remand is a setting with specific prerequisites that call for specialized knowledge and abilities. These prerequisites include the presumption of innocence, an increased risk of suicide, signs of withdrawal in the case of substance abuse, or the so-called prison shock.

In order to be able to properly address and handle these issues and situations, remand centre staff need proper training. The cantons should therefore consider establishing topical continuing education programmes, to be organized cantonally or centrally by SCEPP.

Prisoners in pre-trial detention have a right to be released from prison or presented before a judge within a reasonable period of time. This right is supported by various international resolutions and, on a national level, the principle of expeditiousness and the prohibition of excess detention.

However, there are several problems. For example, the point in time that is chosen for the calculation of excess detention is the moment in which the full duration of the expected incarceration expires. But in Switzerland, conditional – and therefore early – release (parole) is standard. Which is why several demands have been made that Switzerland introduce a maximum possible duration for pre-trial detention, as is the case in Austria.

This would lead to investigations in a case being arranged and organized in such a way that they would adapt to the suspect’s right to freedom, rather than the other way around. Therefore, the legislative authorities, taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages, should seriously consider this measure.