Acute congestion in prisons:

Re-offenders major reason

Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE

Re-offenders are one of the major reasons for the congestion in prisons. Re offenders rate is 50 percent.

It has been identified that some have become jail-birds as 60 percent of prisoners have come to prisons more than three times while a few number has come more than ten times, Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister DEW Gunasekara said. There is an acute congestion in prisons as there are around 25,000 inmates in prisons. The prisons can cater to only for 11,000.

Around 135,000 people are sent to prisons annually and an equal number is discharged annually. However, 25,000 to 30,000 prisoners remain in prisons. There are more than 400 prisoners in wards where there should be only 100 prisoners. Of the prisoners 60 percent are convicted prisoners, while the balance 40 percent are remand prisoners.

Around 10 percent have never attended school while 60 percent have not reached even grade eight in school.

Around 70 percent are between the age limit of 20 and 40.

The percentage of drug related offenders is 40 per cent, the Minister added.