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Prison Montlucon, conversion or closure?

As the prison of Aurillac, the Montluçon (Allier) is also concerned by a possible closure. However, this nineteenth century could be a switch from the Ministry of Justice as we shall see in this article.

History and organization of the institution



The prison was Montluçon commissioning in 1884 in premises built in 1746. Built in the heart of the historic city, the hotel is one of the smaller prisons in France (theoretical number of 20 seats). The property is located within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal of Riom and the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) of Montlucon. This prison has a detention facility for adult men and a quarter of parole. ( source: directory of prisons )

This was a place of detention for the Resistance during the Second World War. Examples include the case of two British secret service agents ( Special Operations Executive, SOE ), and Rene Mathieu Maurice Southgate, sent to France to develop the network Hector stations covering the Indre, the Auvergne and Limousin. Arrested on 1 st by the Gestapo in May 1944, Matthew died at an unspecified date following ill-treatment and Southgate is sent to Buchenwald where he will emerge as the camp's liberation in April 1945 by the American.

Unlike other prisons region as that of Aurillac, the house arrest of Montluçon not been any system of protection by the state.

Threat of closure and conversion project

As the detention of Aurillac, prison Montluçon is intended to close by 2015. This news has been in turmoil population and local politicians who argue that this prison, its small size, offers opportunities with a view to improving the living conditions of prisoners subject to its renovation and its compliance with standards. In addition, the maintenance of this building in the heart of a rural area is for elected officials, regional planning and the fight against desertification campaigns by maintaining local public services. Finally, the draft of a new central prison in Riom raises questions including the future size of the institution and its dehumanizing nature. For all these reasons, local officials lobbied Michele Alliot-Marie and then Michel Mercier, the new Minister of Justice Since the redesign, to preserve the institution or to retrain. Again, the local press echoed these discussions:

Prison Montluçon: Hope

President of the General Council of Allier has been received by the deputy director Michele Alliot-Marie, Minister of Justice, regarding the proposed closure of the house of Case Montlucon. He was accompanied by Bernard Lesterlin, member of the 2nd constituency of Allier. This hearing follows a letter sent late July 2010 at the Chancellery, where the president was Dufregne expressed his anger after hearing about the closure of the prison Montluçon, in the context of a government plan to modernize French prisons. An announcement, brutal, unilateral, who had been no consultation with local elected officials and union leaders. Good news: the arguments for the sustainability of the institution montluçon seem not to have been rejected by the Chancery, which has undertaken to explore the possibility of transforming it into "new neighborhood concept" (QNC). Intended to ensure the implementation of short prison sentences, the QNC accommodate inmates sentenced to less than a year and held at the end of sentence. These institutions have turned to the reintegration socio-occupational and work closely with local players. Such a project would keep all staff members to Montlucon. While many elements remain to be clarified (places of QNC, site selection, involvement of local partners ...), Jean-Paul Bernard Lesterlin Dufregne and opened a new avenue for negotiations and, it seems, succeeded to remove the threat of outright closure of the facility.

A human size

During their meeting, they stressed several points fundamentals. Commissioning in 1884 in premises built in 1746, the house arrest of Montlucon is in the heart of the historic center of town. It is one of the smaller prisons in France, with a theoretical strength of 20 seats. In this hotel on a human scale which employs 28 staff, inmates can train, work and prepare for their reintegration in the best conditions The consequences of such a closure would be heavy for prison staff and prisoners' families, already weakened, which would be forced to make a hundred miles to visit their relatives. The riomois new site intended to replace the two institutions Auvergne convicted, namely Montluçon and Aurillac, located 96 km from Montlucon. Be at least two hours round trip. In 2009, the premises were upgraded, for a total of 300,000 €. This autumn, a major site re-roofing must be committed to a budget of 500,000 €. In addition, the Remand Montluçon has recently obtained certification FNORS certifying its compliance with European standards.
The disappearance of the house arrest of Montluçon would upset the balance so that exists with the court, police and gendarmerie.

From an article published November 16, 2010 on the site www.infomagazine.com.

The new case shows how the reasons for saving are first prison social order (maintenance of public services) but also economic (job maintenance supervisors, external service providers ...) before be proprietary. However, this approach can save a building from destruction and may be the prelude to a broader reflection on the conversion site.