Essay on Prisons and Prison Reforms in India

Essay on Prisons and Prison Reforms in India

Introduction:

The existence of Prisons can be traced back to the ancient period. Initially there was a belief that rigorous isolation and custodial measures would reform the offenders. In due course it is being substituted by the modern concept of social defense.

Development of Thought:

Custody, care and treatment are the, three main functions of a modern prison organization. For over 100 years, there was emphasis on custody which, it was believed, depended on good order and discipline. The notion of prison discipline was to make imprison­ment deterrent.

Consequently, hard punitive labour with no regard for the human personalities and severe punishments were the main basis of prison treatment. More than 40 prison offences have been listed in the jail manuals of many States and any infraction was visited by quite a few barbaric punish­ments.

Gradually, the objective of imprisonment changed from mere deter­rence to deterrence and reformation. This led to the abandonment of some of the barbaric punishments and introduction of the system of awards for good work and conduct in the form of remission, review of sentences, wages for prison labour, treatment in open conditions, parole, furlough, canteen facilities etc.

Revision has now been made to meet adequately the basic needs of food, clothing, medical care etc. Educational and vocational training programmes along with training in scouting etc, have been introduced in jails. Custodial requirements for individuals are now at some places determined on the basis of their antecedents, conduct and performance etc.

Despite these measures, there is yet no clear cut policy measure on prison reforms. A major problem is overcrowding in prisons especially of under trial prisoners. The courts in recent years have also been giving serious thought to the violation of human rights of prisoners.

One can hope that in the years to come the present gap between the prisons in theory and practice will be bridged quickly and a well planned and well coordinated programming of treatment and rehabilitation will be implemented for which adequate and efficient staff and financial resources will be provided.

Conclusion:

Sufficient staff, adequate financial assistance and on the whole improvement in prison conditions will bring concrete changes re­sulting in rehabilitation of offenders. Prisons are known to have existed throughout history. Originally the dun­geons of old castles were used for confining enemies and rivals for enforcing on them the conditions of release.

But this was private or political use of prisons later they were used for detaining offenders while awaiting trial or until such time as punishment was meted out.

Sentencing offenders to terms of imprison­ment is comparatively a recent development. It started in the fifteenth century and became a major form of punishment in the nineteenth century.

It was believed that rigorous isolation and custodial measures would reform the offenders. Experience, however, belied this expectation and often imprison­ment had the opposite effect.

With the development of behavioral sciences, it began to federalize that reformation of offenders was not possible by detention alone.

The traditional approach of retribution and deterrence is being gradually replaced toy the modern concept of social defense which means protection of society and prevention of crime

In ancient India abandoned small fortresses were used as prisons. During the Muslim period. Quranic laws were followed and imprisonment was rarely awarded.

During the British period, the East India Company introduced various re­forms in “the administration of justice. There were at that time 143 civil jails containing thousands of prisoners, most of whom were employed on the con­struction of roads.

Every effort was made to run the prisons profitably. There was widespread corruption and abuse of powers by the prison keepers. In 1835, Lord Macaulay drew attention to tine horrible conditions in Indian prisons and emphasized the need for making imprisonment a deterrent to the prisoners so that acts of violence and indiscipline in prisons could be avoided.

A committee was appointed in 1836 to review prison administration. This marks the beginning of prison reforms in India. In its report of 1838, the committee recommended construction of central prisons and the appointment of an Inspector General of Prisons for each province.

The first central prison was constructed at Agra in 1846 and the first Inspector General of Prisons was appointed for the North Western Province (partly present Uttar Pradesh) in 1844.

During the struggle for independence national leaders had gained first hand knowledge and experience of conditions in prisons. It was natural for them to give attention to the improvement of conditions in prisons.

Many State govern­ments such as Uttar Pradesh (19-46 and 1955-56), Bombay (1948), East Punjab (1948-49) Madras (19.50-51), Orissa (1952-55) and Travancore-Cochin (1955- 56) setup reforms committees to review their jail administrations and suggest improvements.

Despite the prior claims of developmental activities and financial constraints, a considerable effort was made to humanize prison treatment and to meet the basic needs of prisoners in respect of their food, clothing, medical attention etc.

Educational and vocational training programmes along with recre­ational facilities were introduced, in most of the States. The post independence period was also marked by the study of criminology and penology by the younger prison administrators.

This was helpful in the introduction of new ideas and experiments in the field of prison reforms. Introduction of open prisons in sev­eral States was a progressive feature of the prison administration during the fifties.

They offered an atmosphere of minimum security, greater opportunity for developing self-confidence and a sense of social responsibility in the inmates besides offering training in modern agricultural practices, animal husbandry, poultry farming etc.

The establishment of a Central Bureau of Correctional Services at the Cen­tral level in 1961 (renamed as the National Institute of Social Defense in 1975) was yet another important development.

This was the first Central agency to undertake research, training, documentation etc, in social defense and assist and advise the States on matters relating to social defense.

In 1949, the central prison at Luck now in Uttar Pradesh was converted into a ‘model prison” for accommodating star class prisoners who are the best be­haved. Here, every prisoner is studied and given educational and vocational training where after he gets an opportunity for self-employment in an environ­ment similar to the outside world as far as possible.

On the basis of his progress, as assessed from time to time, a prisoner is given graded freedom from maxi­mum security to free-living conditions without any watch and ward during day or night. The prisoner pays to the State the cost of his maintenance from his earnings.

To ensure good discipline and administration, an initial classification is made to segregate males from females, the young from the adults, the convicted from the unconvinced criminal prisoners, civil from criminal prisoners and casuals from habitual and convicted prisoners.

The purpose is to reduce the danger of moral contamination. It is a matter of concern that with the abnormal increase in jail population at certain places, even this segregation breaks down. Only at a few places, partial facilities are available to classify prisoners according to their individual needs for rehabilitation.

About 70 per cent of convicted prisoners admitted in jails are illiterate. After independence greater attention has been paid in jails to imparting literacy to illiterate prisoners during working hours. Whole time education teachers have been appointed for some jails, but their numbers and standards are not yet satisfactory.

At some places educated prisoners with or without training are utilized for imparting education to other prisoners. Suitable prisoners are also given facilities to get education in schools and colleges outside and also to appear in Public examinations as private candidates.

Jails have libraries but they are poorly stocked. Newspapers are also not supplied to the prisoners. Educational Programmes in jails are thus half-hearted and have yet to become an integral part of the daily routine. They continue to suffer for want of funds, adequate staff and lighting arrangements.

Daily prayers are now held in prisons and persons are appointed in honorary capacity to give religious talks to prisoners on holidays. This system is now on the decline due to lack of interest and enthusiasm among non-officials. Prisoners are now allowed to observe important festivals.

Although the importance of vocational training in the rehabilitation of of­fenders is realized, there are very few institutions which give scientific voca­tional training to prisoners. The qualities of instructors and of tools and equipment which are outdated have to be improved.

These programmes have not yet been diversified or developed properly to meet the rehabilitation needs of individual prisoners with the result that they, on release, generally do not practice what they learn.

Wages are now paid to prisoners at some places but the amount earned is nominal and hardly offers any incentive or encouragement. At very few places the wages are substantial or according to market rates.

In many States open prisons with the minimum security, based on the prin­ciple of self-discipline, constructive work and community living have been estab­lished and at some places a phased programme from maximum security to free living conditions within the same institution has been implemented with good results.

In some institutions, the inmates are encouraged on a selective basis to participate in the social and economic life of the community outside.

Prisoners are permitted to receive letters and visits from relations and friends. They can also write to them. The privilege of visit is only partially utilized as the visitors are too poor to meet the journey expenses and there-is no agency to assist them.

The prisoners are also now allowed the privileges of leave and parole under different schemes and rules of entitlement differ from State to State. These privileges are available to a limited number of prisoners and the procedure is also cumbersome.

It is, however, noteworthy that they are rarely misused. Supply of newspapers, seeing television shows and listening to radio programmes also provide contacts with the outside world. Such facilities reduce tensions and make life inside prisons normal.

Prisoners get remissions periodically for good conduct and work. Special remissions are also given for specific special services. The sentences are re­viewed from time to time according to various rules and the prisoners are re­leased before time if they satisfy the prescribed conditions.

Recreational programmes in prisons are a post-independence development. Physical exercises, games and sports are encouraged and quite a few jails have been provided with radio sets.

A few prisons also have facilities to enjoy watch­ing of television programmes, inter-jail tournaments, prison weeks and prisoners’ welfare days are now organised once a year in many States. Musical programmes, poetic gatherings, dramatic shows are also arranged by prisoners.

Panchayats of prisoners and canteens have been introduced in many States. The Panchayats supervise the preparation and distribution of meals, organize recreations and also deal with minor complaints.

Co-operative canteens at many prisons have been running successfully and the profits made are used for the recreation and welfare of prisoners. Under supervision, the Panchayats seem to function well.

In some States welfare officers have been appointed but their number is nominal. They keep in touch with the prisoners and help them to adjust to their new situation. They also help prisoners in maintaining family ties. They have thus a very important role in the rehabilitation of offenders.

The shift of emphasis from deterrence and custody to reformation and re­habilitation of offenders has necessitated recruitment for prison services of men with humanity, integrity and a sense of social service. They have to have a stable temperament, energy, tact and patience and ability to get on well with others.

New recruitment policies are being developed and new cadres for providing psychological, educational and welfare services are being introduced in jails. Training of staff in the service and art of handling prisoners is also essential. Consequently training schools for prison officers have been started in many States.

It was in Uttar Pradesh that the first training school for jail officers was started in August 1940. For a long time to come, this was the only institution of its kind in the country. The school also received officers from other States for training.

There are three types of training courses organised by the school-a diploma course of nine months duration for senior officers and two certificate courses for four months each in prison management and correctional treatment for assistant jailors and custodial staff.

Refresher courses are also arranged from time to time for different categories of staff. Later on, specialized courses for the training of officers were started at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay Jail officers training schools have also been set up at Pune (Maharashtra), Hissar (Haryana), and Mysore (Karnataka).

Several States such as Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have formal ar­rangements for the training of wardens.

The objectives of ‘prison labour’ have varied from time to time. The first All India Jails Committee of 1936-38, advocated that monotonous and uninter­esting tasks should be provided to prisoners and remarked that the criminal was least eligible for being taught useful arts which was considered as reward neutralizing the pain of punishment.

On the contrary, the All India Jails Commit­tee of 1919-20 recommended that the main objective of prison labour should be the prevention of further crime by the reformation of criminals, for which they were to be given instruction in up-to-date methods of work enabling them to earn a living wage on release.

The other objectives were to keep the offenders use fully engaged to prevent mental damage and to enable them to contribute to the cost of their maintenance.

Work is allotted to prisoners on the basis of their health, length of sentence prior knowledge of a trade, and the trade which was most likely to provide a living wage on release. After independence, punitive labour such as extraction of oil by manual labour was abolished and more useful programmes were intro­duced Co train offenders as technicians.

Some effort has also been made during the last three decades to train prisoners largely drawn from among agriculturists in modern methods of agriculture and animal husbandry but, for want of land, only limited progress could be made in this direction.

Initially, payment of wages to prisoners was opposed on the ground that they were already a burden on the State. Gradually, the need for providing some motivation to prisoners was realized and it was considered that some monetary reward would develop interest in work and provide the necessary incentive, more so if the prisoner was allowed to use the earnings on himself or his family.

Maharashtra was the first State to introduce in 1949 a very comprehensive sys­tem of wages.

In some of the open prisons, prisoners are paid wages at market rates out of which they pay to State their cost of maintenance. There is now a growing realization that such liberal system of wages would provide greater incentive for higher and better production.

There is need for the introduction of a greater variety of trades and profes­sions, keeping in view the possibilities of self-employment of prisoners on re­lease. Better qualified instructors, modern tools and equipment and a proper wages system would provide meaningful work experience to the prisoners.

Prisons are now generally overcrowded with under trial prisoners and short termers. Despite the enforcement of Children Acts in various States, a large number of children still continue to be admitted in-prison.

Probation and other alternatives to imprisonment have not yet caught the imagination of the courts in general and they have a tendency to resort to the easiest method of imprisonment of offenders. Prisoners sentenced to fine only are sent to prison without giving them any time to make the payment.

We have, therefore, to seek legal and administrative remedies to these problems to avoid overcrowding in prisons which affects the efficiency of administration as the staff is overworked and involved in routine with no time for reformatory work.

Even now only a few States have efficient enforcement and administration of Children Acts. Children’s Courts, too, have been established only at a few places.

The criminal law, therefore, needs to be amended so as to make it im­possible for the courts to send children and youthful offenders to prisons except for reasons of depravity and likelihood of exercising evil influences on others.

About 80 per cent of convicted prisoners are sent to jails for short periods not exceeding three months, which only expose them to moral contamination and result in economic hardship and distress to their dependents.

There is thus need for greater use of existing alternatives to imprisonment such as warning, proba­tion, suspension of sentence, fines, release on personal bond etc., and also for introducing other alternatives of a non-custodial nature such as service to the community, payment of compensation to the victim of crime etc.

Such punish­ments will involve the positive cooperation of the offender which is likely to be effective in his reformation. The addition of such punishment will add a new dimension to the penal system which will emphasize the idea of reparation to the community.

A large number of tickets less travelers are now admitted in jails for very short periods which are wasteful use of limited resources.

It would be more useful to detain them in camps at suitable places where some kind of unskilled work is being done for the Railways. Here, they could earn wages out of which fines imposed could be recovered along with their maintenance cost in the camp.

Under trial prisoners constitute a majority of the prison population and it is significant that between 1901 and 1978, while the population of convicted pris­oners has been going down gradually that of the under trials has been increasing at an alarming rate.

Under trial prisoners are presumed to be innocent and, in fact, a major proportion of them are ultimately discharged or acquitted after immea­surable physical and mental suffering caused by long detention due to delay in investigation and trial.

It is painful to observe that it is usually the poor and un influential persons who suffer as they are undefended or are unable to provide bail and bond of the amount fixed by the court. Only radical changes in the administration of justice and in legal procedures could rectify such a sad state of affairs.

In any case, there is the urgent need of liberalizing the bail procedure so that a large number of prisoners could take advantage of bail. New methods to replace the system of bails also need to be evolved in collaboration with voluntary agencies.

The under trial prisoners are rightly not obliged to work under the law but remaining unemployed is not only against their own interest but also a national waste. A policy of persuasion rather than coercion to engage under trial prisoners in work was thus advocated and if they chose to work they were to be paid wages.

But in practice when they opt to work, they are employed on prison services and are in lieu thereof given laboring diet and no wages.

Recently, the criminal law has provided that the period of detention as under trial shall be counted towards the sentence of imprisonment. This will mitigate some hardship but will not by itself encourage under trials to volunteer for work.

Quite a large number of under trial prisoners are detained in jails for long periods as they are unable to afford fees of lawyers to defend them. In recent

Years the government has given some attention to this problem and efforts are being made to give free legal aid to the poor. If this facility is extended to a large number of poor persons, it would not only in the long run result in the shortening of the period of detention of under trials but might in some cases result in acquit­tal also.

There is also need for streamlining the legal aid and administrative proce­dures to prevent long detention of under trials. Courts can now release an under trial prisoner, if a charge sheet is not filed within the prescribed period of sixty days.

This provision is permissive and needs to be made obligatory. Inspection of under trial persons detained in jails at regular intervals by the relevant authorities could also exercise indirect pressure on the courts to expedite the trials.

A very small number of convicts at present get the benefit of facilities of leave and parole as the rules regulating them are rigid and the procedure cum­bersome.

These rules need to be reviewed with view to integrating them and enlarging the scope of eligibility of prisoners and simplifying the procedure so it a much larger number of prisoners could be benefited and rehabilitated.

The Prisons Act and other allied legislations need to be consolidated and revised in the light of the modern trends in the treatment of offenders.

In spite of the recommendations of various jail reforms committees that the primary objective of punishment should be reclamation and rehabilitation of the offender, no such clear policy has yet been enunciated, even though many schemes and programmes introduced after independence do have a bearing on this aspect of treatment.

As a result, the aspect of punitive custody continues to persist, more so because the old buildings, equipment and staffing patterns continue to exist more or less on the same basis.

The prisons are more than a hundred years old and their general layout is dominated by custodial requirements. It would help the future development of prison administration on modern lines if a policy regarding treatment in prisons is laid down in clear terms.

Prisons are not normal places. The prisoners are deprived of freedom and normal contacts with families and friends. The deadening disciplines, fear, help­lessness which are inherent in the prison system produce mental stagnation. The emotional and material deprivations cause frustration.

This results in corruption involving the introduction of contraband articles. This is the primitive aspect of prisons and by and large it still persists.

The recent tendency is to diversify the institutions based on increasing freedom and facilities depending on the im­provements shown by individuals to mitigate the abnormality in the prison sys­tem. Thus for modern development, it is necessary to expand the facilities of open prisons.

There has been a continuous record of overcrowding in jails. The position is further complicated by frequent agitations resulting in confinement of a large number of political prisoners, who claim special treatment. Overcrowding results in restlessness, tension, inefficiency and general breakdown in the normal admin­istration.

Magistrates and judges have not yet made adequate use of alternative sanc­tions such as probation etc. The State governments have also not yet shown adequate interest in expanding probation service.

The Indian Penal Code (Amend­ment) Bill 1972 provides new forms of punishments such as experiment, pay­ment of compensation to the victim, corrective labour, public censure etc.

Al­though some states have passed the Habitual Offenders Restriction of Move­ments Act but they are still not being enforced properly. Thus laws alone are not enough; there is also the need for the proper training of magistrates and judges with regard to the selective use of various sanctions.

It is equally necessary to provide for efficient services to assist the courts in determining suitable punish­ment depending on the background of the individual offenders.

The programmes of work and educational and vocational training should be such as would benefit the offender after his release. Education as a process of learning the art of living in society represents the best means of countering criminogenic situations.

So far in jails there has been emphasis only on literacy and not on correctional or social education. Similarly, vocational training and work programmes are limited and are not geared to the needs of rehabilitation of individuals on release.

Work is not now to be treated as additional punishment but should be treated as an important means of imparting useful values to in­mates for vocational and social adjustment and rehabilitation. These shortcom­ings are due to lack of finance.

Good and efficient educators and vocational instructors with modern tools and equipment need to receive special attention, and production and training programmes require to be properly balanced.

The staffing pattern consists of four broad groups-warder or guarding staff, the middle level supervisory officers, the higher level executives, and specialists, technical staff etc.

The middle level supervisory or executive staff consists of jailors, deputy superintendents, etc. A few welfare officers have been appointed but their number and functions are so limited that they have failed to make any significant impact on the reformative aspect of prison administration.

More care is now exercised in recruiting suitable persons’ who are given the necessary training. It is, however, true that the staff is still made to feel that their Primary concern is custody. They need orientation in modern methods and principles of prison correction and rehabilitation.

By and large the morale of prison staff is low due to their hazardous and exacting tasks, long hours of duty with ‘”adequate housing facilities and low emoluments.

If there are adequate and better educated staffs with proper status, they would be able to exercise a healthy influence through their personal example and close contact with prisoners.

There have been a number of schemes and experiments in operation during the last two or three decades. New institutions like open and semi-open prisons have been established and schemes for parole, leave etc., have been introduced.

It is time that a review of these new measures was made so that further reform could be introduced in the content of the present trends, changing provisions laws, and in the types of crimes and criminals. There is thus urgent need for research, particularly of an evaluative nature, on various aspects of prison administration so that a planned, coordinated and integrated scheme for future work and development could be checked out.

In public interest, research workers can­not be given free access to prisons, but given sufficient understanding, it should be possible for the prison department to use their training schools to carry on research in collaboration with university scholars to permit some independence in interpretation.

The State Jail Manual of Maharashtra has been revised in accordance with the Model Jail Manual drafted by the All India Jail Manual Committee of 1957- 58, but in actual practice, many of its provisions could not be implemented in their true spirit for want of adequate funds.

In other States, the manuals are in different stages of drafting. It is no use revising the jail manuals unless a firm commitment can be made to provide the services required for the implementation of ‘various correctional measures envisaged in the Model Jail Manual.

A prag­matic approach would be to draw up a time-bound programme or plan, say, for five years, and to implement the various measures in stages.

In India also the jail department is the most disadvantaged department and gets a very low priority. The financial grants recommended by the Seventh Fi­nance Commission are in respect of only basic amenities and additional prison capacity. They have not provided any funds for correctional programmes.

It should be realized that if jail services in respect of reformative schemes are improved and facilities given, they can do a very important constructive job of rehabilitation. Developmental activities of the prison department, particularly in respect of welfare and production, should be incorporated in the five year plans.

The courts have in recent years been giving serious thought to the of human rights of prisoners and have, on that ground, interfered with the exercise of powers of superintendents of jails in respect of measures for safe custody, good order and discipline.

At present police lock-ups and sub-jails, though under the superintendence of magistrates of judicial or medical officers, are guarded by the police.

This is in contravention of the basic judicial principle of keeping accused persons away from the influence of “the police. This also involves the question of human rights and it is right time that the administrative control of these institutions is brought under the Prison Department.

Recently, the Supreme Court of India took exception to the unduly long detention of a large number of under trial prisoners and the Central and State governments have now started taking vigorous steps to remedy this situation.

The system of bail will have to be liberalized and new instructions to act as sureties for the appearance of the under trial prisoners when required in courts will have to be evolved.

The need for introducing radical changes in legal and administrative procedures to prevent long detention of under trials has been stressed. Legal aid to needy prisoners is also being given due importance. There is thus a clear trend to reduce the number of under trials and to expedite their trial in recognition of their human rights.

After-care for ex-prisoners will assume greater importance when correc­tional programmes in prisons are enforced properly. Both voluntary and statutory after-care will have to be organised in future.

Research into crime and the criminal is still in its infancy. The immediate need of research is to evaluate the existing methods of treatment and to suggest new approaches to the prevention of crime. The value of probation, open pris­ons, parole and home leave as reformatory measures need to be established.

One can now hope that in the years to come the present gap between the prisons in theory and practice will be bridged quickly and a well planned and well coordinated programme of treatment and rehabilitation of offenders in jail will be implemented for which adequate and efficient staff and financial re­sources will be provided.

The financial assistance extended to the upgrading of prisons by the Finance Commission and the recent unprecedented concern and awareness shown at the level of the State and Central governments for improving prison conditions will, it is expected, bring about marked changes in correction and rehabilitation of offenders confined in prisons.