THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PHYSICAL SECURITY IN PROVINCIAL

REHABILITATON AND REFORMATORY CENTER

A Case Study

Presented to
The Faculty of Institute of Business and Public Affairs
Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology
Dahican, 8200 City of Mati, Davao Oriental, Philippines

In partial fulfilment of the requirements in Practicum

(On the Job Training and Community Immersion)
for the degree
Bachelor of Science in Criminology

Diosdado L. Celestino Jr
Zone Young Queen A. Dejerio
Hannah Jean T. Ongcoy
Jesse Riane G. Rosales

June 2018
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Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Prison security is a special physical protection system under a special

circumstance, the quality of which has direct links to the success of the prison

work. At present, the new technology continues to penetrate the security field

and to some extent has changed the traditional physical protection system

architecture and business management model. Prison physical protection system

has undergone tremendous changes with the wide application of new

technologies, such as the network technology and the intelligent control

technology. Since prison is a special social venue, the construction of its physical

protection system is also particularly important. (Ke Yin, 2017)

In Western Australia, there have been a number of high profile escapes,

with 12 prisoners escaping custody10 in the eight months between 1 January

and 31 August 2014. One of these people remains at large due to lack of

physical securities in the premises. Prior to 2008, escapes were far more

frequent. There were a total of 417 escapes between January 2000 and

December 2007; an average of 52 escapes every year. There were also a

substantial number of attempted escapes (67) during that time, but fewunlawful

releases. (Office ofthe Inspector of Custodial Services, 2015)

In the Philippines, numbers of prison escapes were also recorded due to

lack of physical security. 6 inmates escaped from Laguna Jail. According to the
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report, the suspects managed to cut the steel bars of their cell before escaping

out around 4:30 am in March 2017. (Ozaeta, 2017)

Due to the problems dealing on the physical security of prisons and

rehabilitation centers, the researchers conducted a study in order to identify the

types of physical securities present at the Provincial Rehabilitation and

Reformatory Center in Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati. Also, the

researchers came up with a study to determine what is needed in order to

increase the strength of security measures inside the said scope.

Statement of the Problem

1.) What type/s of physical securities present inside the Provincial Rehabilitation

and Reformatory Center in Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati?

2.) What is needed in order to increase the strength of security measures inside

the Provincial Rehabilitation and Reformatory Center in Sitio Tambobongan,

Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati?

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Definition of Terms

1.) Barriers - something material that blocks or is intended to block

passage for security reasons

2.) Physical Security – is the protection of the personnel, hardware,

software, networks and data from physical actions and events.

3.) Prison - a place of confinements especially for lawbreakers for

confinement of persons convicted of serious crimes.

4.) Rehabilitation Center – a facility providing therapy and training for

rehabilitation.
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Chapter II

REVIEW AND RELATED LITERATURE

The following literatures were studied to provide information regarding to

the effectiveness of physical security in provincial rehabilitation and reformatory

center in Mati City.

Creation of PRRC

The Provincial Rehabilitation and Reformatory Center was created at the

year 1967 and was located at Nazareno Street, Brgy. Central, Mati City under the

governance of Leopoldo N. Lopez. At the year 1995, the PRRC was transferred

at Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy, Sainz, City of Mati, Davao Oriental which Cecilio

Balucanag was the Provincial Warden on that year under the governance of

Rosalyn Lopez.

Currently, the PRRC is now under the governance of Hon. Nelson L.

Dayanghirang. The officer-in-charge on the center is now Assistant Provincial

Warden Apollo A.. Conde. The center consisted 13 regular employees and 30

J.O’s. The number of detainees on the present year is composed of 239

detainees.

Components of Physical Security

According to Redding (2004), as prisons become more crowded and

internal problems arise, it is important to keep control and stability inside and

outside of the prison. Although there are many security measures that can be put
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into place, it is hard to say whether it is the physical design of the prison or the

skilled officer that makes the difference in safety and security. Both play a major

role in keeping things running smoothly inside and outside the perimeters. The

reason for this research is to analyze how each part of security helps maintain

cohesiveness and what can be done in those cases where there is chaos.

The physical structure of a prison is extremely important. The role is

twofold: to keep society out and to keep inmates in. Therefore, high walls or

fences and detection systems are essential when building a prison. According to

the Department of Correctional Services, "the layout, design, and age and level

of maintenance of prisons have a direct impact on the level of security"

(Department of Correctional Services, 2003).

Problems in Security

There are many problems that can occur within a prison system. Some

include faulty detection systems and some result from inadequate training and

education on the part of the officer. Also, some officers may be involved in

scandals inside the prison. "All people-staff included-who move into and out of

the institution must be considered possible avenues of contraband movement"

(ACA, 1998).

In Ohio, a state owned prison in Grafton is one of many that have security

problems. There the local newspaper reported that, "prison guards flunked drug

tests, were not subjected to required background checks, and cheated in

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weapons training. Prisoners also had access to pieces of metal, tools, and rocks

on the prison construction site" (Johnson, 2000).

Inmates in a San Antonio prison managed to steal 14 revolvers, a 12-

gauge shotgun, and a rifle before they drove away in a prison van without being

checked. The escape led to a Christmas Eve robbery and the death of an Irving

police officer (Associated Press, 2001).

Problems with security can have crucial, deadly impacts on society. One

malfunctioning wire can cause a nationwide alert. A guard who is not paying

attention may be responsible for putting the entire institution in jeopardy.

Economics also plays a role in security. In order for there to be adequate

programs there must first be an adequate amount of money-this can be seen

with the prison-industrial complex. Schlosser (1998) describes the prison-

industrial complex as not only a set of interest groups and institutions, but also a

state of mind. "The lure of big money is corrupting the nation's criminal justice

system, replacing notions of public service with a drive for higher profits"

Physical Security Measures

According to Weebley (2017), physical security measures have a major

importance in the prison service as all together provide multiple layers of security

to prevent convicts from escaping. If a convict is secured in a cell, this allows

their movement to become restricted and they can be supervised at all times as

it's a small area where they can be monitored. Cells are important in physical
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security as they consist of strong walls or bars that are hard to get through and

so this is the inner layer that prevents escape.

Locks

To ensure cells are even more secure, each door will have a robust lock in

order to make sure the door to the cell will not open unless a prison officer allows

it to open. This ensures the convict remains in the cell. Locks will be found on the

outside of all cell doors and gates, as the lock is on the outside, convicts will find

it very difficult to escape as they won't have access to the lock and therefore,

can't try to get around this security measure by picking the lock with items inside

the cell.

Alarms

Alarms are used around and outside the prison in order to detect when

convicts try to escape, when an alarm sounds, this alerts prison guards that a

convict is escaping and so allows other important security measures to begin. It

also helps to prevent escapes due to psychological reasons, if a convict knows

that there are alarms present it will give them more reason to not try and escape

as they are likely to be caught. However, alarms are only important when there is

a prompt response as if this is not occurring, the convict may have time to

escape.
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Fences

The main purpose of fences is to stop the convict from escaping from the

prison unit as they are wide and tall and so it's very difficult to climb over them.

These tall fences can be found around the prison unit as this provides the outer

layer of security. It further prevents the convict from escaping as even if they are

able to climb over, it delays the escape and allows prison guards to either stop

the climbing or be present on the other side of the fence in order to stop the

escape and send the convict back to their cell.

Gates

Although gates are passages where convicts would be allowed to pass

through, they are secure enough to help improve security. Locks are provided so

it ensures that all convicts pass through only when allowed and there will be

police officers controlling the movement ensuring that no convicts can escape.

Security of surrounding area

This is an important feature in the physical security measures as it’s the

last measure in the multiple layers and so is the last opportunity to prevent

escape. If a convict has managed to escape the prison unit, the security of the

surrounding area provides another way of capturing the convict before escaping

and gives prison guards more time in order to identify and react to the escape.
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This security will happen throughout the day and night as escapes can happen at

any time.

Patrolling

The main purpose of patrolling areas is to detect whether convicts are

trying to escape or providing any use of unsafe actions. A prison guard will walk

around a particular area a number of times in order to check that everything is

secure and therefore, this prevents convicts escaping as if spotted, the correct

procedure can then take place to stop this escape. Patrolling happens throughout

the day as escapes can occur at any time.

Checks of all security areas

Routine checks of all security areas are essential in providing full security

within the prison. At certain times of day, the prison guards will carry out these

routine checks which will be the same each day. By checking security often like

this it can identify when a security measure is not working properly and this can

be fixed to prevent escape. Non- routine checks are also important as if anything

seems suspicious or if something has happened that needs a security check to

be done this ensures that this improves safety, this will happen at any time where

it is needed. This prevents convicts from escaping as it ensures that all security

measures that are provided are secure and working. If all security measures are

in place correctly, convicts will find it very difficult to escape.

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Search Equipment

Search equipment such as firearms, weapons and escape equipment is

used when searching areas for security as this ensures that all people are safe

when this equipment is used appropriately. This equipment is used each time

security is checked and prison guards will always have easy access to any of this

equipment. This search equipment helps to prevent escape as not only does the

use of weapons decrease the likelihood that an escape would occur but also if an

escape does occur the escape equipment will almost always ensure that the

escape is prevented.

Search Area Purpose

The main purpose of having a definition of a search area is to understand

which security measures need to be provided and this ensures that all prison

guards know the same thing so that it's not changed. This prevents escape as it

gives a sense of continuity to the convicts but also secures the security

measures put in place to prevent the escapes.

Importance of Security Procedures

Security procedures are essential in ensuring that convicts don’t escape

from the prison unit. These procedures allow risks to become identified and this

then allows them to be dealt with appropriately. Due to this, all convicts will still
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be under control if security is breached or broken. Security procedures will occur

throughout the entire day when needed.

Prison Escapes in the Philippines

The escape of 158 inmates from a southern Philippine prison this week

adds to a long history of jailbreaks in the troubled region, where rebels and

criminal gangs hold sway. Abysmal security and corruption that allows rampant

smuggling into the rundown prisons are among the explosive cocktail of factors

that allow the jailbreaks to happen. On August 27, 2016, Dozens of Islamic

militants of the Maute group, another gang to pledge allegiance to ARE, raid a jail

in Marawi city and free 23 inmates. Eight of the escapees are Maute members

who were arrested a week earlier carrying pistols and improvised bombs at a

military checkpoint. (Presse, 2017)

In March 4, 2010, Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, alias Commander Tokboy,

escapes from his prison cell in Alabel town, according to the government's

Philippine Information Agency. Maguid later founds and leads Ansarul Khilafa, a

small militant organization that pledges allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS)

and becomes one of the nation's most wanted criminals. The Moro Islamic

Liberation Front (MILF), the nation's biggest rebel group which has waged a

decades-long separatist rebellion, free 49 inmates of Kidapawan jail, the same

prison where this week's breakout took place. One of the escapees is Khair

Mundos, a top leader of the Abu Sayyaf. After the US government places a

$500,000-bounty on his head, Mundos is recaptured in 2014 in Manila. In April

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10, 2004, Fifty-three inmates break out of the main jail on Basilan island, which

is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf Islamic militant group. The Abu Sayyaf was

blamed for the bombing of a ferry in Manila a few months earlier that killed 116

people. Twenty Abu Sayyaf militants were among the escapees. (France, 2017)

Famous Prison Escapes

The New York prison escape of Clinton Correctional Center inmates David

Sweat and Richard Matt generated plenty of headlines in 2015. After a three-

week manhunt, both prisoners were shot by officers. Matt, 49, was killed June

26, and Sweat, 35, was wounded and captured two days later. On Nov. 13,

Sweat pleaded guilty to charges related to the breakout. (Newsday, 2018)

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is a major Mexican drug lord responsible for

smuggling tons of cocaine into the United States. In 2001, he was in a maximum

security prison in Mexico where he held significant influence over everyone,

including the jail director. Using that influence, he escaped and was on the run

for almost thirteen years before being captured again. They didn’t hold him long,

though. He escaped a second time, finding a tunnel that brought him to a

construction site a little outside the prison. Of course, he was caught again and

has yet to escape a third time. (Jason, 2017)

Violent prisoners at Kingman Arizona State Prison, John McCluskey,

Daniel Renwick, and Tracy Province worked with McClusky’s first cousin Casslyn

Mae Welch to break them out. On July 30th 2010, Casslyn parked in the back of

the prison, threw wire cutters over the fence and other tools to help them escape.
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They cut a hole through the fence and made a run for it. Renwick took the

getaway care while the others walked 8 miles on foot and hijacked a truck.
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Chapter III

ALTERNATIVE AND COURSE OUTLINE

A course outline is a document that benefits students and instructors. It is

an essential piece when designing any course. It also works as a guide for

students by setting course goals and student learning outcomes of the study.

(University of Lethbridge, 2018)

This chapter displays and explains the results regarding on the statement

of the problem of this study. The researchers are not allowed to take any photos

inside the said scope for security and confidentiality reasons.

What types of physical securities are present inside the Provincial

Rehabilitation and Reformatory Center in Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz,

City of Mati?

The table below shows the list of physical securities inside the Provincial

Rehabilitaion and Reformatory Center in Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of

Mati and its purposes.

TYPES OF PHYSICAL SECURITY PURPOSE

This allows the movement of the detainees to

become restricted and they can be supervised

at all times as it's a small area where they can

Cells
be monitored. Cells are important in physical

security as they consist of strong walls or bars

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that are hard to get through and so this is the

inner layer that prevents escape.

Although gates are passages where convicts

would be allowed to pass through, they are

Gates
secure enough to help improve security.

Used around and outside the prison in order to

detect when convicts try to escape, when an

alarm sounds, this alerts prison guards that a

Alarms
convict is escaping and so allows other

important security measures to begin.

Used to stop detainees from escaping from the

center as they are wide and tall and so it's very

Fences
difficult to climb over them.

Good lighting in buildings can help people to

see what is around them, use landmarks to

Lightings
navigate, identify signs and spaces, see others’

faces and participate in activities.

They supervise, rehabilitate and oversee the

safety and security of offenders who have been

Jail Guards
sentenced to prison.

Are TV systems in which signals are not

publicly distributed but are monitored,

CCTV Cameras
primarily for surveillance and security

purposes
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What is needed in order to increase the strength of security measures

inside the Provincial Rehabilitation and Reformatory Center in Sitio

Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati?

The table below shows the list of physical securities inside the Provincial

Rehabilitation and Reformatory Center in Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City

of Mati and its needs to increases the strength of security measures.

TYPES OF PHYSICAL SECURITY NEEDS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Some fences can be easily to escape and also

it’s also easily to break. They need to

Fences
strengthen and redesign their fences.

There is a lack of lighting system inside the

premises inside the PRRC. More lightings are

Lightings
needed.

Some important areas inside the PRRC have

no CCTV Cameras installed. Additional

CCTV Cameras
CCTVs are needed to be installed.

There are an insufficient number of jail guards

inside the PRRC. They need more personnel.

Jail Guards
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Chapter IV

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

SUMMARY

Prison security is a special physical protection system under a special

circumstance, the quality of which has direct links to the success of the prison

work. In the Philippines, numbers of prison escapes were also recorded due to

lack of physical security. Because of the problems on physical securities of

prisons and rehabilitation centers, the researchers conducted a study in order to

identify the types of physical securities present at the Provincial Rehabilitation

and Reformatory Center in Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati.

Moreover, the researchers conducted a study to determine what is needed in

order to increase the strength of security measures inside PRRC.

CONCLUSION

The types of physical securities inside the Provincial Rehabilitation and

Reformatory Center located at Sitio Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati are

composed of gates, alarms, fences, lightings, cctv cameras and jail guards.

Moreover, the physicals barriers that needed improvement to strengthen the

security measures in PRRC is to strengthen and redesign their fences, more

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lighting systems, additional CCTV cameras to be installed to increase the

number of jail guards in the premises.

RECOMMENDATION

This case study provided some information regarding on the physical

securities present at the Provincial Rehabilitation and Reformatory Center in Sitio

Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati and its needs to strengthen the security

measure inside the premises of PRRC. Grounded with the results of the study,

the researchers recommend the following:

1.) Seminars on how to strengthen the security of every rehabilitation and

reformatory centers.

2.) Future researchers may study about the effectiveness of physical security

inside the Provincial Rehabilitation and Reformatory Center in Sitio,

Tambobongan, Brgy. Sainz, City of Mati.

3.) Futures researchers may study physical securities and its weaknesses on a

different scope.

4.) Future researchers should get more information about the project.
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References

American Correctional Association (1998). Causes, Preventive Measures, and

Methods of Controlling Riots and Disturbances in Correctional Institutes.
Upper Marlboro, MD: Graphic Communications, Inc.
http://www.ifpo.org/resource-links/articles-and-reports/protection-of-
specific-environments/the-components-of-prison-security/

American Jail Association (1993). American Jail Association Code of Ethics.

Retrieved January 28, 2003, from
http://www.corrections.com/aja/resolutions/index.html.

Associated Press (2001). Prison escape probe to focus on lax security. Retrieved
January 28, 2003, from http://www.clickonsa.com/ant/news/stories/news-
20010108-085202.html.

Department of Correctional Services (2003). Safety and security. Retrieved

February19, 2003, from
http://www.dcs.gov.za/OffenderManagement/Safetyandsecurity.htm.

Federal Bureau of Prisons (1999). Introducing AVIAN. Retrieved February 5,

2003, from http://www.heartbeat-detector-avian.com.

Goldberg, E. & Evans, L. (1995). The prison industrial complex and the global
economy. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from
http://www.prisonactivist.org/crisis/evans-goldberg.html

Johnson, A. (2000, July 28). Security at prison in doubt, union says. The
Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved February 19, 2003, from
http://www.dispatch.com/news/newsfea00/jul00/364974.html

Liberty (2002, August). Allocation. Retrieved April 22, 2003 from

http://www.yourrights.org.uk
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Presse, A. (1994). A history of jailbreaks in the southern Philippines. Retrieved

January 05, 217 from http://www.news.abs-cbn.com/focus/01/05/17/a-
history-of-jailbreaks-in-the-southern-philippines

Price, D. (1999). Questions and answers about security categorization. Retrieved

February 5, 2003, from
http://www.postcardsfromprison.com/research/catsecfq.htm.
Schlosser, E. (1998). The prison-industrial complex. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from
http://theatlantic.com/issues/98dec/prisons.htm

Vertuno. J. (1999). Prison official says guards receive more than recommended
training. Texas News. Retrieved April 22, 2003 from
http://www.texnews.com/1998/1999/texas/prison0130.html
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DOCUMENTATION

The Fences in PRRC

located in women’s cell

located in men’s cell

The fences in PRRC need an improvement in order to avoid the escaping

of inmates and also to avoid the facile entrance from intruders or from suspicious
person.
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Researchers Profile

DIOSDADO L. CELESTINO JR ZONE YOUNG QUEEN A. DEJERIO

HANNAH JEAN T. ONGCOY JESSE RIANE G. ROSALES