19/07/2009 - Sunday Times

New system of checking prisoners, visitors and officials
 
 

A new system of checking visitors to the prison and officials who work there has been put in place, to curb the increasingly illegal contacts the prisoners seem to have with the outside world, Prisons Commissioner General Maj. Gen (Rtd). V. R Silva said.

The process was decided at a meeting Maj. Gen. Silva had with Justice Minister Milinda Moragoda, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, IGP Jayantha Wickremaarachchi and senior police officials, Attorney General Mohan Peiris P.C., and Government Analyst, T.R.N.M. Liyanarachchi.
 

“There are three aspects to this new process. The visitors to the prison would be checked by the Police, the prisoners would be checked by Army, Police or Air Force personnel on their return from courts and the prison officials themselves would be checked in the presence of others,” said Maj. Gen. Silva.


This is a pilot project to protect the public and to take the burden off the prison officials. Although it has been implemented only for a few days the officials have found 20 mobile phones and 47 SIMs during their search. These would be given to the CID for investigation if needed, he said.


The new process has been implemented in the Welikada and Magazine Prisons. Meanwhile the prisons in the country are currently over-crowded due to many reasons. Prisons such as Welikada have been built only to accommodate 1,700 prisoners, but today it houses close to 6,000 prisoners.


“Prisoners are unable to find someone to release them on personal bail or because they can’t pay the bail. There is also another small percentage of prisoners who are not released due the delay in receiving reports from the Government Analyst,” the Prisons Chief said.


The Government Analyst said delays were due to lack of staff. He said, however, the Justice Ministry had been requested to remedy the situation and had been assured that the vacancies would be filled soon.


Presently more than 30,000 prisoners are held in the country’s jails, 15,000 of whom are remand suspects with as many as 60 percent of them having been arrested for drug related offences.


“When the correct documents and reports are not given on time the suspects would be further remanded until they are received or until the next date the case is heard,” an official said.
The prisoners are released on bail depending on the progress of the case.

“The judicial procedures are lengthy and sometimes the reports from both the Government Analyst and the Police are not provided on time,” the Prisons Chief said. Reports from Nabeela Hussain, Amreen Ameen and Melanie Bamunusinghe.
 
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