Bedbugs: Béziers prison lacks money to get rid of this scourge

Un devis de 14 000 € ne peut être financé par la prison de Béziers faute de moyens. Midi Libre – AGENCE

For weeks, the prison administration has been fighting the scourge of bedbugs. In Béziers, several treatments have taken place within the prison, but for the common areas of the staff, there is a lack of money to treat the pests effectively, acknowledges the interregional management.

The prison unions of the Béziers prison denounce the presence of bedbugs in the common areas of the night guards. They have been infested since August and despite the treatments, the insects are still present on the staff beds. They can no longer stand the situation. Nevertheless, the interregional management assures that it is acting for the comfort of its agents.

“Bedbugs are a scourge that does not escape prison, recognizes the prison administration. It does everything it can to fight against these pests. In Béziers, it was a company (subcontractor of the provider of delegated management of the establishment) that called on an external service provider for this type of treatment. At the end of the summer, it was found that the treatment carried out by this service provider was not effective. The delegated management service provider has decided to handle the prison itself."

The remand center handled

During the month of September, the spread of bedbugs was observed in the remand center areas. Given the situation, it was decided to treat the entire remand center 2 out of 3 days. This required a major organization with a financial impact on the laundry. It should be noted that it is planned to also treat Remand Center 1, but the products are currently unavailable. This is a recurring problem and is slowing down the implementation of the treatment.

Officers make an initial report

“At the same time, on August 27, an employee reported that he had been bitten by bedbugs while sleeping in a room on night duty. The establishment immediately contacted the delegated management, Eiffage service, for treatment. The treatment was carried out the same day. A new treatment was carried out on Friday, August 30, with the room being closed until Monday, September 2. On September 27, the presence of powder was noted in the night rooms, in the corridor on the 2nd floor and in the rest room. A priori this powder would be diatomaceous earth or sommière earth spread by the agents."

14 000 € just for the rooms

In response, the treatment of all the rooms was decided by the head of the establishment from Friday, September 27. "We are therefore at 4 treatments for a single room, without success. The union organizations contacted the head of the establishment and are requesting that an external company intervene. They mention a quote of about 14,000 euros, just for the rooms at night. The establishment's current budget does not allow for this charge to be borne.”

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