Protecting prisoners: On overcrowding of prisons
Recently, the latest order of the Supreme Court of directing the interim release of eligible prisoners has acquired salience in view of the uncontrolled second surge in the raging pandemic.
- According to prison statistics for 2019, the Indian prisons have been housing more inmates than their capacity for decades now and this problem of overcrowded prisons is only getting worse.
Indian Prisons are overcrowded because
- Prisons housing more inmates than capacity: As on 31 December, 2019, there were 4,78,600 inmates lodged in different prisons in India while they had a collective capacity to house only about 4,03,700 inmates.
- It implies that the number of prisoners was 118.5% of the prison capacity, the highest since 2010.
- Increase in state-wise distribution of prisoners: The analysis shows that the number of states and union territories reporting overcrowded prisons has increased from 18 in 2018 to 21 in 2019.
- Large number of inmates are undertrials: In 2019, 69% of all prisoners were under trials and this figure has increased slightly in the last four years.
- The convicts and undertrials share the same space in the prison because there is no separation of spaces between them.
- Improper design of prison spaces: The prisons by design are not roomy spaces and when they are crowded, the space for each prisoner becomes even less.
- Huge pendency of cases in Indian Judiciary: There is huge pendency of cases in courts primarily because of a poor judge-population ratio and there is lack of effective legal aid services in our country.
Consequences of overcrowded prisons
- High risk of spreading coronavirus among prisoners: It is difficult to maintain the social distancing norms in an overcrowded prison because there is no way for them to be physically far from each other because there’s just not enough space.
- The prisoners are also at a high risk of getting infected with an infection because of continued movement of prisoners in and out of prison premises.
- Lack of capacity for new inmates: A major challenge for prisons is the influx of new inmates, who could bring in infection from outside.
- Lack of spending from states on inmates: The expenditure on inmates is mainly for food, medical care, clothing, and vocational/education activities.
- The report states that the average spending per prisoner has gone up by nearly 45% in four years between 2016-17 & 2019-20.
- Implementation of committee recommendations is poor: The overcrowding, understaffing, and insufficient funds continue to plague Indian prisons and hence restrict their ability to act as reformation centers.
- It compromises the provision and effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes, educational and vocational training, and recreational activities.
- Basic necessities are impacted due to overcrowding: It undermines the ability of prison systems to meet basic human needs, such as healthcare, food, and accommodation.
- Safety and security: The overcrowding has a major impact on the safety and security of prisoners and staff, where the prisoner to staff ratio increases, tensions can be high and prisoners angry and frustrated about the conditions in which they are held.
How to address overcrowding of prisons in India?
- Implementation of 5-point action plan: The 5-point Action Plan to Reduce Prison Overcrowding to provide guidance to policy-makers on how to address prison overcrowding and mitigate its harmful consequences. It includes:
- investing in non-custodial alternatives to detention both pre-trial and post sentencing
- diverting minor cases out of the criminal justice system altogether
- investing in long-term strategies for crime prevention and reduction
- reducing high rates of pre-trial detention by improving access to justice
- making special or alternative arrangements for vulnerable groups, such as children, mothers with dependent children and people with mental health issues.
- Developing comprehensive evidence based strategies: The governments are encouraged to develop comprehensive national strategies that are evidence based, respond to local circumstances and needs, and which foresee an alternative response to crime, with imprisonment being seen as a measure of last resort in line with international standards.
- Political will and comprehensive criminal justice reform strategies: It is the need to adopt comprehensive criminal justice reform policies and programmes, responding to the causes and needs in a coherent and holistic manner.
- Reviewing and re-categorizing offences: It would give the courts the possibility of imposing non-custodial sanctions and measures or shorter prison terms for a larger number of offences.
- Taking prison capacity into account in the enforcement of pre-trial detention or prison sentences: The states are obliged by international law to protect the human rights of prisoners in their care, including by ensuring that they are treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
- Building the capacity of criminal justice actors: The efficiency and effectiveness of the system to deliver justice in accordance with established international and regional standards will largely depend on the main actors in the system.
- It is important to put in place mechanisms to attract the highest calibre of individuals to serve in the criminal justice system, through transparent and merit-based recruitment procedures.
- Access to legal counsel during pre-trial detention: The right to prompt legal assistance upon arrest and detention is essential both in order to guarantee the right to an efficient defence and for the purpose of protecting the physical and mental integrity of the person deprived of his or her liberty.
Road ahead
- The settling of minor offenses outside of criminal court with informal or restorative justice solutions prevents the system getting bogged down unnecessarily.
- The investments in social policy can ensure that those facing criminal court also have better access to legal aid before their trials.
- The standardization and reducing sentence lengths can lower overcrowded prisonsby routinely cutting sentences down to more manageable and suitable times.
- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has developed a number of tools and handbooks that can serve Member States as practical guides in developing strategies, such as the Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit on custodial and non-custodial measures.
- The successful strategies to reduce prison overcrowding are based on an integrated and sustained approach to enhancing the criminal justice process and are strengthened by in-depth understanding of the nature of the crime problem.
- The strategies must also seek to reduce the time between commencement of proceedings and their conclusion with a final judgement
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