• Welikada to Millewa, Galle to Boossa, Matara to Kotawila
• Old Bogambara Prison to be temporarily reopened
• Forensic delays continue to keep suspects in remand
• Prison officers receive specialised riot-control training

Sri Lanka is moving to expand prison capacity through the relocation of several major prisons and the temporary reopening of unused facilities as chronic overcrowding continues to strain the correctional system.

Meanwhile, delays in criminal proceedings and forensic examinations continue to keep large numbers of suspects in remand custody.

Under the Department of Prisons’ longer-term plans, the Welikada Prison is to be relocated to Millewa in Horana, Galle Prison to Boossa, and Matara Prison to Kotawila, while the old Bogambara Prison in Kandy is expected to be temporarily reopened from next week to provide additional accommodation.

The measures come as the Government faces increasing pressure to move beyond managing overcrowding within prisons and address the wider criminal justice bottlenecks contributing to congestion, particularly delays in drug-related cases and Government Analyst reports.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Prisons Media Spokesman and Commissioner of Prisons – Rehabilitation (Covering-up Duties) S.K. Pallethanna said that the department was pursuing immediate and longer-term measures to increase available accommodation.

“We are taking both immediate and long-term measures to address overcrowding. The Welikada Prison is to be relocated to Millewa in Horana, Galle Prison to Boossa, and Matara Prison to Kotawila,” Pallethanna said.

He said that there were currently no similar relocation plans for the Negombo and Mahara Prisons.

“At present, there are no such plans for Negombo and Mahara. We have to manage the available accommodation while these other measures are being implemented,” he said.

Bogambara to reopen

As an immediate measure, the department is preparing to temporarily reopen the old Bogambara Prison in Kandy from next week, bringing existing infrastructure back into use while the larger relocation projects are pursued.

“The old Bogambara Prison will be temporarily reopened from next week. This will provide us with additional space to manage the existing prison population,” Pallethanna said.

According to him, around 14,000 inmates are currently being held across prisons islandwide, with managing the existing population and increasing accommodation remaining priorities for the department.

However, official prison records over recent years have consistently shown that overcrowding is driven not only by inadequate infrastructure but also by the high number of remand prisoners entering the system.

The Department of Prisons’ 2024 Performance Report identified the increasing remand population as one of the main challenges confronting the department. It recorded an overcrowding level of 286.6% based on the average daily inmate population and approved accommodation capacity. 

The department itself identified delays in Government Analyst reports and court proceedings among the areas requiring intervention to reduce the number of long-term remand prisoners.

The Government’s current efforts to reduce congestion are consequently unfolding on two fronts: increasing physical capacity within the prison system while attempting to address delays that keep suspects incarcerated for lengthy periods before their cases are concluded.

Forensic backlog keeps cases waiting

One of the most significant bottlenecks is at the Government Analyst’s Department, particularly in cases involving narcotics, where laboratory analysis is necessary to establish the nature and quantity of substances recovered by investigators.

The Auditor General’s 2024 audit found that the Government Analyst’s Department ended the year with 30,220 case materials awaiting analysis and reporting.

Its Forensic Science Section began 2024 with 16,237 pending case materials and received another 44,172 during the year. Although 33,446 were analysed, 26,963 remained pending at year-end.

The Food Science Section, meanwhile, began with 1,585 pending case materials, received 20,352 new submissions, and completed 18,680 examinations, leaving another 3,257 pending. Of greater concern, 4,028 case materials – 13% of the total backlog – dated from between 2017 and 2023, indicating that some investigations requiring scientific evidence had remained unresolved for years. 

The backlog has direct implications for the remand population because scientific reports are essential to the progress of many criminal cases, particularly those filed under the Poisons, Opium, and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

‘Suspects remain behind bars waiting for reports’

Senior Defence Counsel Sampath Perera told The Sunday Morning that delays in obtaining Government Analyst reports had become a serious problem in drug-related cases, because an accused could remain in remand while waiting for laboratory confirmation of the substance allegedly recovered.

“In drug-related cases, the Government Analyst’s report is essential because it determines the nature and quantity of the substance. Until that report is received, the case cannot properly proceed,” Perera said.

He stated that the problem became particularly serious where an accused person was unable to obtain bail and continued to remain in remand while the scientific examination was pending.

“There are people who remain in remand simply waiting for the Government Analyst’s report. If the report is delayed, the case is postponed and the accused remains in custody. Sometimes the delay is not because of anything the accused has done, but because the report required for the case has not reached court,” he said.

Perera said that the situation raised a broader question over prolonged remand detention, particularly when a suspect had not been convicted but remained incarcerated because the State had not completed the processes required to move the case forward.

“Remand is not supposed to become punishment before conviction. If a person is kept in custody for a lengthy period because an investigation or scientific report has not been completed, that is something the justice system has to seriously address,” he said.

The problem is particularly acute in narcotics cases, where laboratory analysis determines whether the substance recovered is prohibited and whether quantities meet the relevant legal thresholds. Until the scientific evidence is available, suspects can remain in remand while proceedings are repeatedly postponed.

Staff shortage behind backlog

The Auditor General attributed much of the Government Analyst backlog to a persistent shortage of qualified personnel, with nearly one-third of the department’s approved cadre remaining vacant during the period under review.

The audit identified 33 senior-level vacancies and six tertiary-level vacancies. It also found that the shortage had affected the department’s objective of issuing scientific reports within three months.

Although nearly 64% of the case materials received during 2024 had been analysed, the department informed auditors that substantially increasing productivity was practically impossible while operating with extensive vacancies.

Recruitment examinations for laboratory technology service officers had been initiated, while requests had also been made to the Ministry of Public Administration, Public Service Commission, and Public Service Recruitment Review Committee to fill vacancies.

The backlog has continued to receive attention at the highest levels of Government, with measures subsequently announced to recruit additional staff and expedite thousands of pending reports.

The issue was also taken up by Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice, and Civil Protection, which this week discussed with the Police the procedures followed from the arrest of suspects in drug-related cases to the filing of cases. The committee specifically examined delays in obtaining Government Analyst reports and the resulting increase in suspects being held in remand custody.

Drug cases dominate prison admissions

The volume of drug-related cases has placed further pressure on prisons and forensic services. The Auditor General’s audit of the Department of Prisons found that 31,314 people were imprisoned for drug offences in 2024, while 65.5% of direct admissions to prison during that year were related to drug offences.

The audit also raised questions over the use of existing rehabilitation capacity.

Although the Kandakadu, Senapura, and Vavuniya treatment and rehabilitation centres operated by the Bureau of Rehabilitation had a combined capacity for 1,120 people, only 262 places were being utilised as at the end of 2024, leaving capacity for another 858 people. Only 642 people had been referred to the three centres during 2024.

The Auditor General observed that the relevant institutions had not created the necessary mechanism for drug-dependent persons to be directly referred to rehabilitation centres as a means of reducing prison overcrowding and improving rehabilitation.

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has similarly called for a review of laws and policies that rely heavily on incarceration in responding to drug use, advocating treatment, rehabilitation, and alternatives to imprisonment for minor drug-related offences.

Security preparedness strengthened

Alongside attempts to increase accommodation and reduce congestion, the Department of Prisons has also strengthened security preparedness following the disturbances witnessed within several prisons earlier this year.

Pallethanna said that prison officers had undergone specialised riot-control training conducted by the Police recently in addition to their regular basic training.

“Last week, our officers received riot-control training from the Police. Prison officers already receive basic training, but this was additional training specifically related to riot control,” he said.

“The purpose is to ensure that our officers are properly prepared to handle such situations and maintain security within the institutions,” he added.

The training follows incidents of unrest at several correctional institutions in July and August which again exposed the difficulties of maintaining security within heavily congested facilities. The incidents prompted renewed calls from rights groups for reforms addressing overcrowding, prison management, staffing, and accountability.

While riot control training is aimed at improving the ability of officers to respond when disturbances occur, overcrowding itself remains a significant operational challenge. Prisons holding substantially more inmates than their intended capacity place additional pressure on accommodation, sanitation, healthcare, prisoner classification, and the ability of officers to supervise inmates.

Relocation alone not enough

The proposed relocation of the Welikada, Galle, and Matara Prisons will provide the department with an opportunity to increase capacity and replace ageing infrastructure, while temporarily reopening Bogambara is expected to provide more immediate relief.

However, previous audits have repeatedly warned that overcrowding cannot be resolved through infrastructure expansion alone.

Perera said that reducing overcrowding would therefore require the State to look beyond constructing additional prisons.

“The entire problem cannot be solved simply by creating more prison space. If cases continue to be delayed and people continue to remain in remand unnecessarily, whatever additional capacity created will eventually be filled,” he said.

“What is necessary is for the entire criminal justice process to work efficiently – from the investigation to the Government Analyst’s report and the court proceedings. Otherwise, the prison system is left to deal with the consequences of delays elsewhere,” he said. 

The Government is now pursuing measures at several points in that chain, including increasing prison accommodation, relocating major facilities, attempting to expedite forensic reports, and considering measures aimed at reducing the remand population.

Attempts by The Sunday Morning to seek a response from the Minister of Justice and the Ministry Secretary were unsuccessful, as neither could be reached despite repeated efforts.

For the Department of Prisons, the immediate task remains finding sufficient accommodation for those already committed to its custody, while the longer-term success of the Government’s strategy to address overcrowding will depend on whether reforms elsewhere in the justice system can reduce the number of people entering prisons and the length of time they remain there.