Plan to cut numbers in jail by 40%
Overcrowding sparks assault, rape, murder
Onnucha Hutasingh
The Corrections Department plans to reduce the number of prison inmates by 40% over the next two years.
The plan was unveiled by Justice Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng at a seminar yesterday, and comes as the department struggles with overcrowding.
The department, now part of the Interior Ministry, will fall under the Justice Ministry on Oct 1.
Mr Chaturon said cutting the number of prisoners, especially those awaiting trial, would improve the system's efficiency.There are 88,000 people in prison awaiting trial, nearly 40% of all inmates. About 20,000 others are serving time for drug charges or in lieu of fines, although this group will start to fall after Oct 11.
A bill now being drafted will allow payment of fines by instalment, or public work, rather than detention in lieu of fines, and allow the temporary release of suspects.
Mr Chaturon said the change might help curb human rights violations against detainees. Some got into fights, were raped, assaulted and even killed.
On March 31 this year, there were 253,370 prisoners in 137 state prisons, and an average 2,500 new prisoners every month. The system was intended to hold only 102,627 prisoners.
That left just 0.83 square metres per inmate, rather than the 7.5 square metres they should have under international standards.
The ratio of jail staff to prisoners was 1:24 rather than 1:5 set by those standards.
Mr Chaturon said the department wanted to become a leading corrections agency in Southeast Asia by 2007.
Corrections head Siwa Saengmanee said inmates who behaved well should have their records expunged so they could return to society and find jobs.
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