brand logo

House arrest for minor offence suspects/convicts, those unable to pay fines   

10 Feb 2022

  • Prisons Dept. moots five-year reform plan to reduce prison congestion 
By Buddhika Samaraweera With the intention of reducing prison congestion and saving expenditure, the Prisons Department is to focus on placing those charged with committing minor offences, those convicted and sentenced for committing minor offences, and those who are unable to pay the fines imposed on them by courts, under house arrest, instead of imprisoning them, The Morning learnt. A statement issued by the Prisons Department noted that it is currently planning to implement a prison reform programme under a five-year plan. He said that special sections within the department that need to be reformed have been identified. Under this programme, he said that priority would be given to reducing prison congestion. It further stated that under the said programme, short-term, medium-term, and long-term solutions have already been proposed to reduce prison congestion.  “Accordingly, the five-year plan proposes to implement the house arrest system used in countries where advanced correctional methods are in place as a solution to prison congestion in addition to being an alternative to imprisonment for minor offences,” the statement read. The department added that the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules) also promotes such alternatives. It further read: “In the system of house arrest, inmates who are remanded as suspects for minor offences and those who are sentenced to a shorter period of imprisonment upon conviction are not detained in prisons, but are kept in their own homes for the due period of time. They will only be allowed to leave the house for previously approved activities such as job and health-related matters.” According to the department, the implementation of this methodology would save the Government a large sum of money in addition to reducing prison congestion. Noting that the Government spends a lot of money to maintain those who are imprisoned, especially for failing to pay fines, the statement added that the implementation of the house arrest system for inmates who fail to pay their fines would enable them to go to work and pay the relevant fines.


More News..