Conference VideoReturn to index of conference videos These streaming videos require the free QuickTime player software from Apple Computer. Conference Session: Session VI—Standards Speaker(s): Silvia Casale, President, Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Moderator) Date: Length: 92 minutes Description: This session addresses the critical issue of what standards, if any, should apply during an inspection by a monitoring body. Should compliance with standards be mandatory or voluntary, and should standards be drafted so as to be aspirational or to provide minimal rules of conduct? In the main presentation, Andrew Coyle, one of the drafters of the European Prison Rules, examines the applicability of international human rights standards to prison operations, and emphasizes the need for agreement on general principles upon which standards are based. Al Bronstein follows with a description of the American Bar Association’s current effort to revise the 25-year old set of legal standards applicable to prisoners’ rights. David Bogard, a member of the ACA Commission on Accreditation, reviews recent efforts to strengthen both ACA standards and the ACA accreditation process, but also notes limitations on the accreditation process as an oversight model. Anne Owers, the head of the British Prison Inspectorate, goes on to describe how her office developed a set of expectations that guide inspections, but that differ from standards in important ways. Finally, Jeff Beard, the head of the Pennsylvania prison system, discusses ASCA’s efforts to develop a performance-based measurement system that applies standards across jurisdictions. Audience discussion follows. The statements made here represent the speakers' own thoughts. Neither the LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin, nor any organization providing support for this effort necessarily endorses the views and statements included here. |
