• Dept outlines plans to ease overcrowding and improve officers' welfare 

Expediting court proceedings to reduce prison overcrowding was among the key measures discussed during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's meeting with senior Prison Department officials last week, it is learnt.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Commissioner General of Prisons (Covering) Prasad Hemantha Kumara said that discussions at Friday's (17) meeting at the Presidential Secretariat focused on speeding up judicial processes so that pending cases could be concluded more quickly, thereby reducing the number of remand prisoners.

He said that officials also briefed the President on plans to expand prison capacity, improve facilities available to prison officers and address the operational challenges they face in carrying out their duties.

Kumara further said that prison officers also drew the President's attention to the unique pressures associated with their profession, noting that prison service differs significantly from other public sector occupations because of the stressful nature of the work. "The President understood the timely need to pay attention to prison officers and the issues affecting the service," he said.

He added that the meeting also reviewed the recent unrest at the Negombo Prison and the steps the Department intends to take to prevent similar incidents in the future.