THE ISLAND OF NAURU

GAOL AND PRISON RULES. (c)

(Made under the provisions of the Nauru Gaol and Prison Ordinance 1921)

THE OFFICER IN CHARGE.

1. The Officer in Charge of Police has control of the prisons on the Island, and it is his duty to enforce the whole of the Regulations. He is responsible to the Administrator for the general discipline, management, and safe custody of the prisoners.

2. The Officer in Charge of Police shall keep or cause to be kept the following books:-

(a) The Record Book, in which shall be entered the prisoner's name, the particulars of his imprisonment, the length and nature of his sentence, the date of the commencement and expiration thereof, the date of his discharge, and any previous sentences of imprisonment recorded against him.

(b) The Ration Book, giving daily number of rations drawn.

(c) The Store Book, in which shall be entered all stores received and issued, and the stock on hand on the last day of such quarter.

(d) The Prisoner's Property Cash Book, in which shall be entered all clothing and other property, including money taken from prisoners and how it is disposed of, with receipts therefor.

3. It is the duty of all officials to treat prisoners with kindness, humanity, and impartiality, to maintain order and discipline, and to enforce observance of the rules and regulations of the gaol.

4. No official shall strike a prisoner except in self-defence, or in the case of attempted escape or violence on the part of the prisoner.

5. Every official shall make an immediate report to his superior officer of any misconduct or breach of the gaol regulations on the part of any official or prisoner.

6. No official shall punish a prisoner except as authorized by law or regulation.

7. Officials shall not employ prisoners as domestic servants or otherwise than in conformity with the gaol rules or the instructions of their official superiors.

8. Smoking within the precincts of the gaol is prohibited, except under such restrictions as to time and place as the Administrator may direct.

DUTIES OF PARTICULAR OFFICERS.

The Gaoler.

9. The gaoler is charged, under the supervision and direction of the Officer in Charge of Police, with the order, discipline, cleanliness, and regularity of the establishment and the safe custody of the prisoners, for all of which he is to be held directly responsible to the Officer in Charge of Police. When necessary for the preservation of order, he may put into handcuff any refractory or insubordinate prisoner until he can be brought before the Officer in Charge of Police.

10. He shall be responsible to the Officer in Charge of Police for the date of discharge of all prisoners.

11. He shall call the attention of the Officer in Charge of Police without delay to any prisoner whose state of mind or body appears to require medical attention.

12. He shall see that the gaol is kept in a cleanly state and that the walls and cells are swept and cleaned daily, and that all prison mats are aired on fine days.

(c) Notified in Gazette No.13 of 3rd September, 1921.

The Medical Officer

13. The Government Medical Officer shall visit the gaol at least once a month.

14. He shall report to the Administrator any matter which requires attention in view of the medical or sanitary interest of the prisoners and any case of malingering.

The Wardress.

15. When female prisoners are confined a wardress shall be appointed.

The wardress shall reside in the gaol and have the care and superintendence of all female prisoners.

PRISONERS.

Classification.

16. Prisoners shall be classified as follows:-

First class.-Prisoners sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour.

Second class.-Prisoners under sentence of imprisonment only and prisoners awaiting trial or under examination.

17. Prisoners of the first class shall be employed in associated labour of such kind and at such places as the Officer in Charge of Police, with the approval of the Administrator, may appoint.

18. Prisoners of the second class may wear their own clothes if the same be sufficient and decent. Provided that their clothes and order effects may be taken from them, if necessary, for the purpose of evidence connected with their prosecution or otherwise for the purpose of justice.

19. They shall not be compelled to be shaved unless for the purposes of cleanliness.

20. They shall be allowed such exercise in the open air as the Medical Attendant or, in his absence, the Officer in Charge of Police shall deem necessary or expedient.

21. They shall be employed on light duties only.

Admission and Discharge.

22. Prisoners on admission shall be searched and all prohibited articles shall be taken from them.

23. On the discharge of a prisoner his own clothes shall be returned to him, unless it has been found necessary to destroy them, in which case he shall be provided with sufficient clothing at the expense of the Administration.

24. Every prisoner shall be discharged after the morning meal on the day on which his sentence expires or otherwise terminates.

Food, Clothing, Bedding, and Rations.

25. Rations will be supplied to prisoners according to the scale authorized by the Administrator.

26. The hours* of meals shall be as follows:-

Breakfast .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	6.30 a.m.	
Dinner .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..	11.35 a.m.	
Supper .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..	5.20 p.m.	

*Hours as amended by Para. 1, Order No. 21 of 23rd May, 1925

27. Prisoners shall not be allowed to smoke or to have tobacco in their possession.

28. Every prisoner, other than a prisoner entitled to wear his own clothing, shall be provided with a prison dress, and shall be required to wear it, and shall not have in his possession any other article of clothing unless the same shall have been supplied to him by the direction of the Medical Officer or the Officer in Charge of Police.

Hours of Labour.

29. The ordinary hours of work for prisoners subject to hard labour shall be as follows:-

Mondays to Saturdays, inclusive:-
7 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.
1 p.m. to 5.15 p.m.

In the event of circumstances necessitating the alteration in the hours of labour, no prisoner shall be called on to work more than nine hours out of the 24 hours, except under special circumstances approved by the Administrator.

Personal Cleanliness and Health.

30. Male prisoners whose sentences exceed one month shall, unless the Officer in Charge of Police otherwise order, have their hair cut on admission and afterwards when required. They shall be shaved twice a week. Prisoners shall be allowed to grow their hair and beard as they desire one month before the expiration of their sentence or at the time of their release from gaol.

31. The hair of female prisoners shall be cut only when necessary for the sake of health and cleanliness.

32. The prisoners shall be required to keep themselves clean and decent in their persons, and to conform to such directions as to bathing or otherwise as may be given to them for that purpose. They shall also be required to keep their cells or wards in a state of cleanliness.

33. All prisoners shall be allowed daily not less than two hours' exercise in the open air, weather permitting. This will not apply to prisoners under solitary confinement, unless at the direction of the Medical Officer.

General Duties and Employment of Prisoners.

34. Prisoners shall obey all commands they may receive from all persons in authority over them.

35. Any complaints shall be made in the first instance to the gaoler who shall report the same to the Officer in Charge of Police. Every prisoner shall have the right of appeal to the Administrator, but will be liable to punishment should the appeal be found to be trivial or unfounded.

36. Every prisoner shall be subject to search before entering the gaol for the night.

Visits and Communications.

37. Visits and communication will be allowed by permission from the Officer in Charge of Police, subject to the direction of the Administrator.

Prison Offences.

38. The acts and omissions following, if committed by any prisoner, are hereby declared to be "prison offences"-

1.	Disobedience of the Gaol Regulations.	
2.	Common assault on another prisoner.	
3.	Profane, indecent, or insulting or threatening language or behaviour.	
4.	Insubordination.	
5.	Idleness or negligence at work or leaving place of work without authority	
6.	Wilful mismanagement of work.	
7.	Obstructing any prison official in the execution of his duty.	
8.	Disobedience to the commands of any prison official.	
9.	Disrespectful conduct to any officer or other person in prison.	
10.	Committing any nuisance.	
11.	Having prohibited articles in possession.	
12.	Marking, defacing, or damaging any part of the prison or Government property.	
13.	Gaming, dancing, whistling, singing, or making any unnecessary noise.	
14.	Secreting or purloining anything.	
15.	Malingering or wilfully disabling himself.	
16.	Frivolous complaints, needless requests to see Medical Officer, insolence, rudeness, or any other misconduct subversive of the peace, order or good government of gaol.	

Leg Irons and Handcuffs.

39. Leg irons and handcuffs may be used when indications have been shown of an attempt to escape or to commit some act of violence.

40. Leg irons shall be of such weight and patterns as the Administrator may from time to time direct.

Remission and Review of Sentence.;

41. Any prisoner under a sentence of imprisonment may earn remission of sentence by industry accompanied by good conduct. The amount of such remission may be determined by a system of marks approved by the Administrator.

42. Maximum remission obtainable shall be "one-fourth" in the case of males and "one-third" in the case of females.

43. The cases of prisoners sentenced to imprisonment shall be reviewed by the Administration from time to time.

Release of Prisoners upon Medical Grounds.

44. In the event of the Medical Officer reporting at any time that the continuance of confinement of any prisoner will either endanger his life or reason or is likely to shorten his life, the Administrator shall take such report into consideration, and shall weigh every circumstance connected with the prisoner and the nature of his offence, and shall have power in his discretion either to order that the prisoner do continue in prison under his sentence or be discharged from gaol either absolutely or subject to such conditions as he may think fit.

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GAOL AND PRISON RULES.(a)
POLICE AND PRISON RATIONS.

(a) The Gaoler is the storekeeper so far as police and prison rations are concerned, and for this duty will be directly under the Accountant.

(b) The Ration Storekeeper will be responsible for the receipt and issue of all police and prison rations, in accordance with the authorized scale.

(c) He will requisition every Friday for what police and prison rations he will require during the following week. Issue of these bulk rations will be made to the Ration Storekeeper each Friday morning.

(d) The Officer in Charge of Police will detail each Friday for a tour of duty of one week, commencing on the following Monday morning:-

(a)	Fishing party of –

One constable;
One prisoner, accustomed to fishing,
whose duty it will be to catch sufficient fish for the police and calaboose labour entitled to rations.
This party during their tour of duty will be under the immediate orders of the Ration Storekeeper, and will be struck off all other duty.

(b)	Toddy collecting party of –

Two prisoners, accustomed to toddy collection,
whose duty it will be to gather sufficient toddy for police entitled to rations.
This party will also be under the immediate orders of the Ration Storekeeper from six until eight each morning and from four to six each evening.

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GAOL AND PRISON RULES.(b)

One half stick of trade tobacco may be issued each Sunday to each prisoner who has completed three months imprisonment and whose conduct is considered by the Officer in charge of Police to be entirely satisfactory.

Three pence per day for each working day may be credited to each prisoner who has completed not less than six months of a sentence of imprisonment with hard labour, provided that conduct and work is entirely satisfactory.

The tobacco issue and money allowance may be withheld at the discretion of the officer in charge of Police, should such action be deemed necessary.
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(a) Published in Gazette No. 18 of 6th May, 1922.
(b) Published in Gazette No.33 of 20th August, 1927.