Massive Rehabilitation program for prisoners in the offing

A high sixty-five per cent of the country's prisoners languish behind bars merely due to their inability to pay the fines contributing to the huge overcrowding in prisons which official statistics reveal is currently over 400%. According to the same statistics, 71% of prisoners serve less than six months in jail and 45% for three months to one year, while 37% are held for drug offences.

Prisoners who undergo longer prison terms between two to three years are very few the statistics reveal.

Under a new program launched by Justice and Judicial Reforms Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne, inmate offenders in prisons will be rehabilitated during their time in punishment to prevent return to crime and direct the 22,000 inmates for a broad reform program.

Ministry of Justice has studied the prisoners rehabilitation programs in other countries and identified defects in our prisoners' rehabilitation and welfare system. The ministry has taken steps to provide a broader view in the context comparatively in other countries in the world. Minister further emphasised that though we had begun the welfare program as far back as 1953, it was not up to the standard a Justice Ministry media release stated.

The main problem is that the short-term remandees and minor offenders are detained in prisons at large. This program aims to devote prisoners who have committed minor offences for agricultural, farming and vocational training in a fruitful way. The prisoners who are sentenced for three months to one year are rehabilitated under the Community based Correction Program and the six Community Based Correction Centers now limited to a few districts will be expanded to islandwide.

Under this new program Minister has decided to activate the new defunct Prisoners' Research Center to begin a new system for the prisoners who are unable to pay their fines.

Minister has taken these steps in a discussion with the officials on May 27, at the Ministry.