BEST PRISON PRACTICES

Dr. Upneet Lalli

Deputy Director ICA,

Chandigarh.

Definition

Best practices are defined by the United Nations and the

International Community at large as a successful

initiative which:

Have a demonstrable and tangible impact on improving people’s quality of life;

Are the result of effective partnership between private and civil sectors of society;

Are socially, culturally, economically and environmentally sustainable.

IT IS A SUCCESSFUL, GOAL – ORIENTED

CORRECTIONAL INITIATIVE THAT IMPACTS

ON EVERYDAY OPERATION

U.N. STANDARDS FOR TREATMENT OF

PRISONERS

a) Body of Principles for the protection of all persons under any form of detention of imprisonment, adopted in December, 1988

b) Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, 1990

c) Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of Prisoners approved by U.N. in 1957 and adopted in 1985.now revised Mandela Rules 2015.

d) Bangkok Rules for Women Prisoners 2010.

e) Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing death penalty

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

PROJECT ON BEST PRISON PRACTICES

(i) Identify the best practices in different prisons of the

country.

(ii) Establish a benchmark for the good practices

(iii) Study the perceptions of stakeholders towards the

best practices

(iv) Study the organizational culture of prisons with best

practices

PRISON STATISTICS – 2014

Total Number of Jails - 1387

Total Prison Population - 4,18,536

Authorized Capacity - 3,56,561

Total Number of Convicts - 1,31,517

Total Number of Undertrials - 2,82,879

Occupancy Rate - 117.4%

EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES (EBP) IN

A CORRECTIONAL SETTING

The Principle of Effective Intervention, one

of the first principles of EBP is to assess

the risk (likelihood of re-offending) and

needs of offenders using actuarial means.

Areas of Best Prison Practices

Prison Security

Use of Technology in Prisons

Security and Prison Management

Information Dissemination

Staff Development

Managerial Practices

Prisoners’ Contact with Outside World

Grievance Redressal

Health and Medical Facilities

Food

Educational, Vocational and Cultural Programmes

Shops in and outside prisons

Religious, Meditational and Spiritual programmes and recreational activities/sports activities

Community involvement

Creative Art/ Cultural Therapy

Women Prisoners – Vocational Training Programmes

Children in Prisons

Environment

Legal Aid

Special Courts

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SOME INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES OF

BEST PRISON PRACTICES

Tele-Medicine (Technology) – U.S.A

Started in States of Ohio, Texas, California in

1990s.

The most common benefits

Improved security

Personal Safety

Cost Savings

And access to specialists

Yellow Ribbon Project (Community Involvement) –

SINGAPORE

Objectives

Crate awareness of the need to give second chance to

ex-offenders

Generate acceptance of ex-offenders and their families

in the community

Inspire community action to support the rehabilitation

and re-integration of ex-offenders

Needle and Syringe Programme

(De-addiction and HIV/AIDS ) –NSP_ Started in

Switzerland in 1992 and since then introduced in

60 prisons in Germany, Spain, Belarus, Iran and

some other countries.

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SOME BEST PRISON PRACTICES IN INDIA

Technology

Security, Video Conferencing,

CCTV – Tihar, Delhi ,Tamil Nadu.

CCTV in most states.

Health and Medical Facilities

Drug de-addiction centre/ – Delhi,

VCCTC & Hospice for women and men with HIV – West Bengal

Intake Screening examination – Tamil Nadu

Educational and Vocational Training

IGNOU,

National Open School

Computer Centre,

Engineering, MBA, DCA,

Carpentry,

Bakery,

Pottery,

Shoe-making,

Sculptures making,

soap and phenyl making

Work programmes outside prisons

Petrol Pump

Agriculture

Tea shop

Pakoda

Shops

General Store

Paan House

Cycle Repair

Farming in Sugarcane Research Institute

CSR –Use –mobile shops

Reducing Undertrial Population Jail Adalats

Section 436-A

Plea Bargaining

Special Courts on monthly basis

Legal Aid Services

Modernization of Kitchens

Modern kitchen

Stainless steel cooking vessels and trolleys

Gloves, caps and special dresses while cooking food

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OPEN PRISONS - 2014

Open Prisons 54

Authorized Capacity 5070

Number of Prison Inmates 3799

Occupancy Rate 74.9%

Open Prisons facilitates reintegration of offenders

Plantation in Open Prisons

Rubber plantation

Cashew plantation

Herbal plants

Nursery @ Open Air Jail

Poly House Green House

Gobar/ Bio Gas Plant @

Open Air Jail

Compost collection

Open Prisons 54 Open Prisons in India

as per Prison Statistics 2014

Rehabilitation Fund Training kit

Wages and rehabilitation fund

Housing loan for prisoners

Community Participation Gurdwara meet

NGO participation

Games/ Sports

Providing Stationery, computers, fees

Providing counselors

Video Conferencing in

Himachal Pradesh

E-Prison Software in Himachal

Pradesh has been made part of the

web portal of criminal justice

system which is a common portal

of police, judiciary, prosecution,

FSL and jail.

The JailVaarta Project of H.P.

prisons Deptt. was awarded ‘The

Mantham – South Asia and Asia

Pacific Award, 2014 under E-

Governance category.

Video Conferencing Mulaqat- in H.P

Prisons.

The Advantages of JailVaarta are as

under:

1. More than one visitor / relative

can interact from their house;

2. No social stigma attached to

going to the prisons;

3. Savings of Travel time and

money of relatives/visitors;

4. No chances of contraband/illegal

items passed on to prisoners;

5. The investigating officers of the

police can question undertrial

prisoners through Jailvaarta.

6. Jailvaarta facility is free of cost

for the prison inmates.

7. All security features have been

incorporated in Jailvaarta.

Activities of Central Jail Patiala

1. Skill Development Centre

consisting of Beauty Parlor,

Embroidery, Tailoring are

run in women ward.

2. A modern Theater with

Projector and Surrounded

Sound has been opened for

inmates

3. Modern-De-addiction

Centre is also being run on

the guidelines of PGI,

Chandigarh.

4. This jail has its own

Bhangra and Orchestra

Team.

Campus Placement at

Tihar, Prison New Delhi Placement at Tihar :

Piped natural

gas Rain water

harvesting

Daily garbage

disposal

Sewage treatment

plant

Tree plantation

LED & CFL lights

Solar water

heaters

Apiculture

project

Earth hours

Mobile units for selling

products