REGULATIONS, Dated AUGUST 31, 1912, Made by the ADMIRALTY UNDER SECTION 81 OF THE NAVAL DISCIPLINE ACT (29 & 30 VICT. C. 109) FOR NAVAL DETENTION QUARTERS.
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1912/1386 |
| Year | 1912 |
1912 No. 1386
NAVY AND NAVAL RESERVES
(3) Naval Detention Quarters
REGULATIONS, DATED AUGUST 31, 1912, MADE BY THE ADMIRALTY UNDER SECTION 81 OF THE NAVAL DISCIPLINE ACT (29 & 30 VICT. C. 109) FOR NAVAL DETENTION QUARTERS.[These Regulations (S.R. & O. 1912, p. 1049) are printed as amended by Regulations, dated July 22, 1941 (S.R. & O. 1941 (No. 410) I, p. 706), September 30, 1946 (S.R. & O. 1946 (No. 1917) I, p. 1096) and June 10, 1947 (S.R. & O. 1947 (No. 2080) I, p. 1523).]
Discipline and General Management
1. Officers and members of the staff of naval detention quarters are to observe the rules and regulations contained in this book, except as provided in Article 2, as well as the King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions so far as the latter are applicable.
2. The rules and regulations contained in this book shall be applicable to detention quarters on foreign stations so far as local circumstances in each case will admit.
3. The discipline will be the strictest naval discipline with the prescribed restraints to enforce the punishments awarded.
4. The naval, educational and physical training shall be such as to keep the men under sentence efficient, and to give suitable training to untrained men, or deserters who have been away for long periods.
Inspection of Detention Quarters
5. The Commander-in-Chief shall inspect the detention quarters as early as possible in each year, reporting the result of his inspection to the Admiralty on the prescribed form.
Monthly Visitor
6. The Commodore, or in his absence a Captain detailed by the Commander-in-Chief, is to act as Detention Quarters Monthly Visitor, and is to visit the detention quarters at least once every month.
7. He shall see all the men under sentence at least once a month, and ascertain if they have any complaints. Complaints or requests of men under sentence may be heard in private.
Board of Visitors
8. The Board of Visitors shall consist of two Senior Captains and a Medical Officer detailed by the Commander-in-Chief(a).
(a) Rule 8 as substituted by S.R. & O. 1947 No. 2080.
9. They will assemble at the detention quarters at the beginning of each quarter.
10. They will inspect the detention quarters throughout and examine all the journals and other books relating to discipline.
11. They will see all the men under sentence and hear any complaints or requests the latter may wish to make, reporting if necessary to the Commander-in-Chief. Complaints or requests of men under sentence may be heard in private.
12. They shall inspect the food provided for the men under detention, and should they find that the quality of any article does not appear suitable, they shall report the circumstances to the Commander-in-Chief for the information of the Admiralty, and the Captain shall thereupon take such steps as may be immediately necessary to provide the men under detention with suitable food.
13. Should any abuses in connection with the detention quarters come to the knowledge of the Board of Visitors, they shall take care that such abuses are immediately inquired into, and reported, if necessary, to the Commander-in-Chief for the information of the Admiralty.
Staff
14. The term "Staff" shall not include Commissioned Officers.
15. The Staff of each detention quarters at home shall consist of:—
Master at Arms, Instructional Staff, Non-Instructional Staff.
Captain of Detention Quarters
16. The Captain shall reside in such place as is approved by the Commodore.
17. The Captain shall strictly conform to the law relating to detention quarters and to the detention quarters rules, and shall be responsible for the due observance of them by others. He shall observe the conduct of the detention quarters staff, and enforce on each of them the due execution of his duties, and shall not permit any member of the Staff to be employed in any private capacity, either for any other Officer of the detention quarters or for any men under detention.
18. The Captain shall exercise his authority with firmness, temper and humanity. He shall enforce similar conduct on the Staff. He shall always bear in mind that the chief object of establishing detention quarters for naval offenders is to maintain discipline in the Navy, and to repress the repetition of disciplinary offences; and as punishment alone can hardly be expected to produce this effect, he shall consider it his duty to endeavour to instil manly and moral principles into the mind of every man under sentence, letting him see that he takes interest in his welfare, and by his good advice and kindly admonition, endeavouring to convince him of his error, and to encourage him to aim at future good conduct and the attainment of a respectable character in the Service.
19. The Captain will, himself, once each day, parade and carefully inspect all men under detention, and will cause members of the Staff in charge of wards or parties to inspect them every time they parade for drill, exercise, or work out of their rooms, and to require a high standard of cleanliness and neatness in regard to their persons, clothing, &c.
20. The Captain, in case of misconduct, may suspend any member of the Staff, and shall report the particulars without delay to the Commodore or Senior Officer.
21. The Captain shall visit and inspect daily the wards, rooms, yards and divisions of the detention quarters, also the bakehouse, kitchen and workshops, and every room or other place in which any man is undergoing punishment or special discipline, or charged with any offence, and, as far as practicable, shall see every man once at least in every twenty-four hours. It shall be his duty to visit daily all men while employed at work and see that they are industrious and that all orders respecting the application of work are duly enforced; and in default of such daily visits and inspections he shall state in his journal how far he has omitted them and the cause thereof.
22. The Captain shall take every precaution to prevent the escape of men under detention, and shall take care that all members of the Staff are well instructed as to their duties and responsibilities in this respect and vigilant in fulfilling them.
23. The Captain shall require reports to be made to him accounting for all men in his custody night and morning at the closing and opening of the detention quarters respectively, at such hours as they go to and return from labour, and at such other times as may be necessary.
24. The Captain shall assure himself that all gates are locked at the proper times, and that all keys of the detention quarters are kept in the authorised place or in the possession of the authorised members of the Staff, and he shall not allow any key of the detention quarters to be taken outside the gate.
25. The Captain shall, at least once during the week, go through every part of the detention quarters at an uncertain hour of the night; which visits, with the hour and state of the detention quarters at the time, the Captain shall record in his journal.
26. If the Captain omits to perform any routine or duty prescribed he shall record the omission in his journal with the cause thereof.
27. The Captain shall cause an abstract, approved by the Admiralty, of the regulations relating to the treatment and conduct of men under detention, with a copy of the detention quarters dietaries (printed in legible characters) to be posted in each room, and shall read them or cause them to be read to every man who cannot read, within twenty-four hours after his admission.
28. The Captain shall take an early opportunity of seeing all men after their admission and satisfying himself that they understand the rules and regulations to which they are required to conform, the privileges they may gain by good conduct, and the consequences of idleness and misconduct.
29. The Captain shall, without delay, call the attention of the Medical Officer to any man whose state of mind or body appears to require attention, and shall carry into effect the written recommendations of the Medical Officer respecting alterations of the discipline or treatment of any such man.
30. The Captain shall daily provide for the Chaplain and the Medical Officer a list of men under punishment.
31. Upon the death of a man under detention the Captain shall give immediate notice thereof to the Coroner and to the Officer commanding his ship, as well as to the nearest relative of the deceased, where practicable.
32. Where an inquest is held on the body of a man who dies while under sentence in detention quarters, no Officer of the detention quarters or members of the Staff, nor any man under sentence therein, nor any person engaged in any sort of trade or dealing with the detention quarters shall be a juror on such inquest.
33. When not less than twelve jurors are assembled they shall be sworn, by or before the Coroner, diligently to inquire touching the death of the person on whose body the inquest is about to be held, and a true verdict to give according to the evidence.
34. The Captain shall supply to the Coroner the name of any man under detention who tenders his evidence in the case of an inquest about to be held on the body of any man.
35. The Captain shall forward to the Commodore, for the information of the Admiralty, a report of any inquest on a man, the finding of the jury or other circumstance which may occur at the inquest.
36. The Captain shall, without delay, report to the Commodore any case of insanity or apparent insanity occurring among the men under detention, or any case in which the Medical Officer is of opinion that the life of any man will be endangered by further detention, or that any sick man will not survive his sentence or is totally and permanently unfit for detention discipline, or has reason to believe that the mental state of any man is becoming impaired or enfeebled by continued detention.
37. The Captain shall keep the following records and accounts as well as such ordinary Service...
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