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Need for Prison Reforms:
- Prison reform is necessary to ensure that human rights of prisoners are protected and their prospects for social reintegration are increased.
- Prisons are not isolated from the society and prison health is public health. It is important to provide adequate health facilities.
- For protecting the rights of inmates with mental health-care needs.
- Most recent statistics reveal that over 67 percent of the prisoners are under-trials and may continue to be held in overcrowded prisons for years. This makes them one of the weakest sections of society.
Present Status and Analysis:
- Overcrowding of prisons, under trials, custodial violence all are the gross violations of human rights.
- Prisoners’ health conditions deteriorate in prisons which are overcrowded, where nutrition is poor, sanitation inadequate and access to fresh air and exercise often unavailable.
- Prison staffs are also vulnerable to most of the diseases of which prisoners are at risk.
- Imprisonment disproportionately affects individuals and families living in poverty.
- When a member of a family is imprisoned, the disruption of the family structure affects relationships between spouses, as well as between parents and children
- When released, often with no prospects for employment, former prisoners are generally subject to socio-economic exclusion.
- According to the NCRB 1.2% of the prisoners have mental illness and they are being ill treated and discriminated and deprived of their right of good health.
- Poverty: Many prisoners are unable to execute bail bonds or provide sureties.
- Little public scrutiny in jails provides the possibility of violation of basic rights.
- Most of the installed CCTV cameras are not functioning in prisons.
Open prisons system in India
An open prison also called as minimum-security prison, open camp, or prison without bars is open in four respects:
- Open to prisoners: inmates can go out during the day but have to come back in the evening.
- Open in security: there is absence of precautions against escape, such as walls, bars, locks and armed guards.
- Open in organization: working is based on inmates’ sense of self-responsibility, self-discipline, and self-confidence.
- Open to public: people can visit the prison and meet prisoners.
- In India, the first open prison was started in 1905 in Bombay Presidency and in Uttar Pradesh after independence.
- Seventeen states are reported to have about 69 functional open jails housing around 6000 inmates with Rajasthan having 29 such prisons, the highest that any state has.
- Recently India’s first all-women’s open jail was opened in Pune, Maharashtra.
Way Forward:
- Prisons should have reformative approach rather than retributive one. Basic human rights of the prisoner should be protected and be given another chance to live a meaningful life.
- Fill up vacancies and augment the staff strength across criminal justice wings.
- Financial assistance to NGOs working for the rehabilitation of prisoners and community-based alternatives to imprisonment for offenders convicted for relatively minor offences.
- Qualified health professionals independent of the prison administration — are essential to provide services to inmates.
- Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission: Should meet regularly and dispose of any prison related
- Ensuring Accountability of Police – any crime like custodial violence must be fast tracked within specified time period through Independent investigation Agency Inculcation of scientific method of investigation in Police force and curtailing the practice of third degree torture
- Strict Implementation of DK Basu case guidelines as well as NHRC guidelines by States.
- The Supreme Court ordered the Centre and the States to install CCTV cameras in all the prisons in the country.
- Regular monitoring and functioning is required The women prisoners should be treated more generously and allowed to meet their children
- The prison legislation should make provision for remedy of compensation to prisoner who are wrongfully detained or suffer injuries to negligent acts of the prison personnel.
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