Jail uplift

It is through these columns that we expressed the need to improve our jail administration on an urgent basis. Several reports in The Daily Star also highlighted the pitiable conditions of the prisoners whose living conditions put the word "squalid" to shame. The press reports also brought to light the level of corruption that pervades the entire prison system.

We understand that there is a "jail reform" of the cabinet committee, details about which we are totally ignorant. We feel that the reforms, if any, that the government has sought to implement in respect of our jails, one of the most neglected areas of our administration, should be open to public dissection and suggestions.

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There is almost a black economy that rules the prison administration. Services can be bought at a price and the more one can pay the higher is the service one is provided with. What is even more galling is that, these are being done at the behest of the "higher echelons" of the prison administration. Equally disconcerting is the report that those prison officials that do not fall in line face the ire of the higher authorities and end up being posted in "punishment postings."

Another aspect that we feel the government must address with urgency is the current capacity of our prisons. Reportedly, there are about three times the number of prisoners in our prisons, which should accommodate around twenty-six thousand only.

The inordinate time taken by the process of litigation has much do with the overcrowding of our prisons. Many of the inmates happen to be under trial and many are incarcerated without specific charges. The government should not only hasten the trial process, it must also dispose the cases of those that are being held without any specific charges. This, we are sure, would go some way in ameliorating the overcrowded condition of our prisons.

While there is an urgent need for jail reform, the present distress of the prisoners can be alleviated through proper administrative measures. Sooner it is done the better.