Prisons overcrowded

It was disclosed at the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) held under the Chairmanship of Lasantha Alagiyawanna recently that there are many issues in the Department of Prisons.

The Committee expressed its displeasure at the delay in the work as recommended by the Committee previously that a new Act be prepared in accordance with international standards to replace the existing Act establishing the Prisons Department.

The Committee Chair instructed to provide a report with a specific time frame on the completion of these activities by 10 July.

Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya said that the capacity in prisons has increased and this figure is generally 259% and in some prisons this figure has increased by 300%-400%. Accordingly, although there is room for only 11,762 inmates in the prisons, 26,791 inmates are currently in prisons, Secretary to the Justice Ministry Mrs. Wasantha Perera revealed.

Out of this number, 17,502 are remand prisoners and 10,470 of them are drug related offenders. Furthermore, the Commissioner General of Prisons said that there are 9,289 people who have been convicted by the court and 3,569 of them are drug-related offenders. It was also revealed that 1,309 of them are in prison for not being able to pay fines.

Additional Commissioner General of Prisons Chandana Ekanayake said that it is a big problem that people who cannot pay fines are released under special amnesty on occasions like Vesak and Poson.

It was also revealed that the number of drug-related offenders has increased rapidly. According to this, rehabilitation work will be done in 9 new centres, said the Commissioner General of Prisons. The Committee also informed the officials to quickly prepare and submit the necessary proposals and plans to control this situation.

It was also revealed that out of the total number of 7,872 employees, there are 1,663 vacancies. COPA Chair instructed to complete these as well as to present related plans and proposals if an increase in the total number of employees is required. Furthermore 4 of the 11 machines that are used to body check and check the bags of goods in the prison are not working. Officials pointed out that since these machines are more than 10 years old, it is profitable to buy new machines compared to the cost of repairs. Accordingly, the COPA Chair instructed the officers to submit a plan regarding the necessary machines for all prisons.

Due to the ‘jammer’ that disables telephone signals in the prison, attention was drawn to the fact that signals are not working in the surrounding areas as well. The Commissioner General of Prisons said that these activities are currently being carried out by the Sri Lanka Signal Corps and that a technology that works accurately only for the relevant area is currently available in developed countries. Accordingly, the Committee advised to discuss this matter with the relevant security forces as well as with the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and take the necessary steps immediately.

The Committee also discussed submission of inspection reports. Government Analyst Deepika Seneviratne said that there are 25 vacancies due to the majority of scientific officers going abroad. However, she said that the number of reports to be given has been reduced to 3,944 and that 15 more officers will be hired under the contract basis and the accumulated amount will be completed soon. Also, in 2021 and 2022, the number of reports to be given per month is between 1200-1500, but this year, it is more than 2500 per month, she said. It was also revealed that a large number of them were drug cases. The Committee advised to complete the required number of employees and consider these activities as a special task and complete them promptly.

Apart from this, the need to set up an accurate computer data system related to the prison department, reducing the quality of food after obtaining the tender by using realistic prices for the supply of prisoners’ food during the procurement activities were also discussed.