Regulations on Granting Leave Permits to Adult Convicted Persons and Young Adults

1 This regulation applies to persons serving their sentences or liberty-depriving measures under open or closed regimes.

2 These provisions apply by analogy to semi-detention, short sentences, external work, as well as to the execution of measures and the execution of the sentence preceding internment.

1 The authorization of exit must not detract from the preventive character of the sentence and must not harm security or endanger public safety, particularly when it concerns interned persons.

2 Persons detained in execution of a sentence or an anticipatory measure may be granted escorts, permits, or leaves. The judicial authority may be called upon to give an opinion.

3 A detained person placed under an external work regime may benefit from leaves according to the progressive list provided for in Art. 11 para. 4 of these regulations.

4 A detained person placed under a semi-detention regime may benefit from leaves according to the progressive list provided for in Art. 11 para. 5 of these regulations.

5 The responsible authorities may grant an exit authorization to a detained person against whom a criminal investigation is open exclusively with the preliminary agreement of the competent judicial authority.

6 For the execution of the reinforced security regime and the lifelong internment of extremely dangerous offenders, the Conference shall, if necessary, promulgate particular provisions.

7 Articles 75a and 90 para. 4 bis SCC remain reserved.

Exit Authorizations mean

a) Leave, which is one of the means available to the competent authority to allow the detained person to maintain relationships with the outside world and to prepare for their release. The principle of leave must be provided for in the penal sanction execution plan, provided that it can be appropriately arranged;

b) Permission, which is granted to the detained person to attend to personal, professional, or judicial matters that cannot be postponed and for which their presence outside the institution is indispensable;

c) Accompaniment, which is an accompanied exit granted for a particular reason.

1 Release permits are specifically regulated relaxations of sentence enforcement, such as authorized and time-limited absences from the correctional facility. They form an integral part of individual sentence enforcement plans (Art. 75 para. 3 and Art. 90 para. 2 SCC) and primarily serve to achieve the legal objective of sentence enforcement, namely the future ability to live a crime-free life (Art. 75 para. 1 SCC). They are especially used for

a) maintaining relationships with the outside world and structuring a long-term sentence;

b) attending to personal, vital, and legal matters that cannot be deferred and for which the presence of the detained person outside the correctional facility is indispensable;

c) therapeutic purposes (e.g., the execution of therapeutic tasks, the verification of therapeutic work, the maintenance of basic motivation for therapeutic work);

d) preparing for release.

2 As a general rule, releases and leaves are not accompanied. The authority granting the permit may order that the detained person be accompanied if this appears necessary to ensure the normal execution of the sentence relaxation. Unless expressly stated otherwise, accompaniment is carried out by staff members of the correctional facility. The person in charge of accompaniment is primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with the release or leave program.

1. **Lightening of Enforcement**

All stays of detained persons are considered as lightening of enforcement

a) outside the security sector of a closed penitentiary or the closed section of an open correctional facility;

b) outside the delimited perimeter of an open correctional facility, with the exception of accompanied activities provided for in the enforcement plan and known to the placing authorities.

2. The lightening of enforcement recognized by the CCDGP are listed in the note of March 29, 2012, annexed to these regulations.

3. The following are not considered lightening during enforcement

a) the fact that the police take charge of a detained person (e.g., for interrogations, hearings, medical appointments);

b) the transport of prisoners via the intercantonal transport system JTS or the transport of detainees by individual cantons.

4. If, within the framework of the enforcement of sentences and measures, a person is detained in a hospital or a psychiatric clinic, accompanied transfers within the confines of the hospital or clinic itself are the responsibility of the hospital or clinic, unless the placing authorities have expressly ordered otherwise.

1 The placing authority is responsible for the overall planning of the execution and coordinates it.

2 It determines the appropriate executing institution and decides in particular on remissions.

3 It may make the granting of remissions of the enforcement regime subject to compliance with certain conditions and obligations.

Notifications and Opinions

1 The prison management gives advance notice of all applications for release permits falling within the jurisdiction of the authorities established by the canton that issued the judgment.

2 The opinion of the rehabilitation assistance service, a therapist's report, as well as any information from other authorities or third parties, may be requested.

3 If the detained person wishes to visit their family or third parties, the competent authorities may first request the agreement of the persons concerned.

Delegation of Competencies

1 The placement authority may delegate its power to grant relief from execution (except conditional release) entirely or partially to the executing institution. This delegation must be made in writing.

2 The delegation of decision-making powers is excluded for detainees recognized as dangerous to the community. Having committed one of the offenses referred to in Article 64 paragraph 1 SCC entails a presumption of dangerousness.

3 When setting the conditions for authorizing an exit, the competent authorities shall give particular consideration to the interests of victims and the circumstances in which the offense was committed.

Competence in urgent cases [1]

[1] Marginal note amended by R 18.6.2014; in force since 24.6.2014 - AS 2014, 317.

1 If the decision concerning an alleviation of execution cannot be postponed, if the placement authority cannot be contacted, and if decision-making powers have not been delegated, the decision rests with the management of the correctional facility. The management shall ensure that an adequate security arrangement is put in place, based on the arrangement provided for any previously granted alleviations of sentence. In case of doubt, it shall request police assistance. [2]

2 The management of the correctional facility shall inform the placement authority as soon as possible. The latter shall decide on the maintenance, adaptation, or revocation of the alleviation.

[2] Para. amended by R 18.6.2014; in force since 24.6.2014 - BU 2014, 317.

1 To obtain an exit authorization, or rather, a leave or a permit, the detained person must

a) formally request an exit authorization;

b) have resided for at least two months in the same establishment, provided that at least one-third of the sentence has been served; the decision regarding execution in the form of semi-detention remains reserved;

c) provide probative elements to demonstrate that the granting of an exit authorization is compatible with the needs for the protection of the community;

d) justify active participation in the resocialization objectives provided for in the penal sanction execution plan and that this request falls within the aforementioned plan;

e) demonstrate that their attitude during detention makes them worthy of the increased trust sought through the leave request;

f) have a sufficient sum, earned through their work, or rather, credited to their account.

2 Leave requests must be submitted at least one month before the scheduled date for the leave itself.

3 Exceptional reasons for granting a permit are reserved.

4 For obtaining an exit authorization, or rather, an escort, the competent authority sets the conditions on a case-by-case basis.

5 Furthermore, depending on the circumstances, the competent authorities designated by the canton may require

a) proof that the detained person's identity documents are deposited with a Swiss authority;

b) guarantees of a nature likely to facilitate the proper conduct of the exit;

c) the implementation of additional technical surveillance measures.

Frequency and duration of exit authorizations

1 The detained person may obtain a maximum of one leave every two months.

2 For particular reasons, the competent authority may derogate from the pre-established frequency in order to grant fractional leaves.

3 The duration of a leave is set according to the following parameters

a) 1st and 2nd leave, maximum 24 hours;

b) 3rd and 4th leave, maximum 36 hours;

c) 5th and 6th leave, maximum 48 hours;

d) from the 7th leave onwards: maximum 54 hours.

4 Detained persons who meet the conditions for the granting of an external work regime but who cannot benefit from it, have the possibility of obtaining weekly outings according to the following parameters

a) 1st month: 52 hours;

b) 2nd month: 72 hours;

c) 3rd month: 86 hours;

d) 4th month: 124 hours;

e) from the 5th month: 172 hours.

5 As regards semi-imprisonment, the enforcement institution defines the period of time the person spends outside as part of their professional activity. Except for duly justified exceptions, this period of time may not exceed 13 hours. The duration of a leave is set according to the following parameters

a) 1st month: maximum 24 hours;

b) 2nd month: maximum 36 hours;

c) 3rd month: maximum 48 hours;

d) 4th month: maximum 52 hours;

e) 5th month: maximum 72 hours;

f) 6th month: maximum 86 hours;

g) 7th month: maximum 124 hours;

h) from the 8th month: maximum 172 hours.

6 The duration of a permit is, as a general rule, a maximum of 12 hours, including travel time; in no case may it exceed 16 hours.

7 The duration of an accompaniment is, as a general rule, 4 hours. It may not exceed 8 hours, including travel time.

1. Leave may be granted, provided circumstances permit, under the following conditions

a) a leave has already been previously granted and successfully completed;

b) leave cannot be granted for the night of December 31st;

c) the other conditions relating to the granting of ordinary leave are met.

2. The granting of leave is subject to the following procedures

a) when the date of the leave falls between December 1st and January 31st, the planned leave may be postponed (advanced or delayed) to coincide with the Christmas holiday period;

b) the number of supplementary hours attributed is a maximum of 12 hours;

c) it is not possible to obtain a second leave during the month of December;

d) the subsequent leave may not take place before February 25th.

1 By virtue of and within the scope of the leave grant, the correctional facility shall provide the detained person with an authorization (safe-conduct pass) for each individual leave. The detained person must carry this pass during their absence from the correctional facility and present it to the police upon request during a check.

2 A copy of the safe-conduct pass issued to detainees under ordinary regime shall be sent in advance to

a) the authorities that made the decision;

b) where applicable, the guardian;

c) rehabilitation assistance services or the social service of the facility;

d) where applicable, the family or third parties whom the detained person is visiting (Art. 7 para. 3 of these regulations).

3 The facility shall inform the police of the departure using the methods it deems most appropriate.

The safe-conduct must compulsorily contain the following information

a) the dates of departure and return;

b) time of departure and time of return;

c) the locality or localities to which the detained person is going;

d) the sum of money released to the detained person (only if under ordinary regime);

e) the obligation to behave correctly;

f) any conditions imposed;

g) the prohibition from leaving Swiss territory.

Revocation of the granted exit authorization

1 If a person detained with the benefit of an exit authorization no longer fulfills the conditions upon which its grant was based, and the competent authorities are not yet able to make a determination thereon, the facility management may provisionally suspend the exits for serious reasons or as a precautionary measure.

2 It shall immediately inform the competent authorities, who must render a decision within 10 days.

3 Any appeal against the decision shall not have suspensive effect.

The placement authority is responsible for ensuring that the executing establishment receives, at the time of placement and during execution, all information important for the organization of the execution. It transmits to the executing establishment all useful documents, with particular reference to the execution order including personal data, offenses, and terms of execution, the judgments, any expert opinions and recommendations from the specialized commission, and the extract from the criminal record. It also informs, to the extent possible, about the state of health of the detained person, their status under foreign law, any expulsion and RIPOL system registration measures, as well as ongoing proceedings.

1 In cases where the competences for granting execution alleviations are not delegated, the correctional facility shall submit a written application to the placement authority. The application shall contain information on the concrete organization and the framework conditions of the planned execution alleviation. The correctional facility shall also provide information regarding compliance with the execution plan and the cooperation of the detained person, as well as the planning and concretization of the execution planning objectives.

2 The correctional facility shall formulate a preliminary opinion on the conditions and determine whether any deficiencies can be remedied through conditions or accompanying measures.

3 If the detained person is undergoing therapeutic treatment in a correctional facility, the facility shall also attach the position statement of the competent therapist. The therapist shall specifically address

a) the evolution of the treatment;

b) the existence of medical contraindications;

c) recommendations aimed at risk reduction.

In the event of the transfer of a detained person, the execution dossiers and a report on the progress in the implementation of the execution plan must be transmitted to the new enforcing establishment.

The Decision concerning the conclusion of an agreement among the three penitentiary concordats regarding prison leave remains reserved.

1 In the case of persons who have been convicted of an offense listed in Art. 64 para. 1 SCC, the placement authority must, in these situations, examine the dangerousness in more detail in collaboration with the specialized commission. It may also request a new expert opinion.

2 For this purpose, particular account shall be taken of the analysis relating to the type and motivation of the act, the mode of execution, the evolution of criminality, mental and personality disorders and their corresponding problematic areas, specific conflict behavior, social skills, developments since the time of the offense concerning delinquency, behavior during detention, relationship skills, the ability to make and maintain agreements, evolution in therapy, awareness of the act committed, recognition of responsibility for the offense, the possibility of treatment, motivation to follow therapy, as well as the social context that will receive the person in case of a softening of the regime of execution of the sentence.

1 The decision as to whether to authorize an easing of the enforcement regime must be taken on the basis of an analysis of concrete risks of escape and of committing a new offense, taking into account the purpose and specific modalities of the proposed easing, as well as the current situation of the detained person.

2 Easing of sentence enforcement may be granted when

a) the convicted person is no longer considered dangerous to the community; or

b) third parties can be sufficiently protected from a residual risk through accompanying measures or conditions; or

c) the situation necessitates an easing of enforcement in order to prepare for an imminent conditional or definitive release.

3 The placement authority establishes the accompanying rules according to the protocol set by the Concordat Commission.

1 The placement authority supplements the position statement of the specialized commission when

a) it considers authorizing an alleviation of the execution; and

b) the detained person is interned or sentenced to a custodial sentence; or

c) it cannot unambiguously pronounce on the danger to the community posed by another detained person.

2 The specialized commission pronounces on the threat to third parties posed by the envisaged alleviation and issues, where appropriate, recommendations on the framework conditions and accompanying measures that would allow for the reduction of any potential threat.

1 The placing authority shall make a written and reasoned decision on the alleviation of the execution. It shall ensure that the detained person is entered into RIPOL.

2 The executing institution shall ensure that the decision is carried out. It must provide the person in charge of accompaniment with all useful information about the detained person and the purpose of the alleviation, as well as about the security arrangements and the behaviour to adopt in an emergency. If the executing institution considers that the decision or the ordered conditions are not feasible, it shall immediately inform the executing authority; the release shall consequently be suspended.

1 This regulation repeals the regulation of 25 September 2008 concerning the granting of leave to adult and young adult convicts.

2 This regulation shall enter into force after having been adopted by the cantons in accordance with their own rules.

3 It shall be published on the website of the Latin Conference of Heads of Justice and Police Departments and by the cantons in accordance with their own rules.

Published in BU 2013, 576.