NCJ Number
87786
Date Published
1982
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This discussion of Sri Lanka corrections considers prison industries, remand prisoners, the status of prison officers and prisoners, and the problem of drug-abusing inmates.
Abstract
In Sri Lanka, prison industry is organized with centralized control and supervision from Prison Headquarters, and training is provided in both industry and agriculture to match offender needs, with the ultimate objective being to enable the inmate to find gainful employment upon release and keeping the inmate usefully employed while in prison. Each inmate is required, according to personal skill and degree of training, to produce the required number of products or specified tasks daily. Prisoners are paid wages according to a graded scheme based on skill and training. There is acute overcrowding in the prisons due to the large number of remand prisoners, largely due to the ease with which police can have suspects remanded. A committee now working on the problem has recommended additional accommodations, reduction in case-processing delays, and the wider use of bail. Departmental Standing Orders and the Establishment Code for all public servants govern the conduct of corrections officers. This includes procedures for safeguarding the rights of the accused in any disciplinary inquiry. For prisoners, the conditions of imprisonment, their diet, clothing, working hours, visitation rights, and access to lawyers are all specified in the Legislative Enactments. Although the number of prisoners sentenced for drug offenses is not large, there is a heavy traffic in cannabis sativa (ganja) inside the prisons. Although drug-abusing inmates have not been treated differently from other inmates in the past, plans have recently been prepared to have a separate unit for the housing and treatment of those sentenced to prison for drug-related offenses.