Bappisus Identifies Two Key Priorities for Addressing Prison Problems

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The head of the Agency for the Control of Development and Special Investigations (Bappisus), Aries Marsudiyanto, has identified two key priorities for addressing problems in Indonesia’s prisons: improving prison management and tackling overcrowding.

The priorities were discussed at a ministerial-level coordination meeting initiated by Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra in Jakarta on Friday.

“We concluded that there are two areas to address to improve prison conditions: prison management and how to tackle overcrowding or overcapacity,” Aries said.

He said improvements to prison management should begin with infrastructure, followed by human resources, including both their quality and numbers.

“Prison staff—their quality and their numbers. At present, there are also too few of them,” he said.

Operationally, he added, the aim was to eliminate illicit transactions and other unlawful acts inside prisons.

“There should no longer be anything involving personal interests, let alone the interests of prisoners or inmates,” Aries said.

Further improvements are needed in prison logistics, including inmates’ healthcare, food and water, recreational facilities, sports areas and other matters that need to be brought into order.

Aries said the coordinating minister had taken on board all the proposals made at the ministerial meeting and would follow up with further discussions on how to implement them. The results would be presented to President Prabowo Subianto.

“All these proposals have been gathered by the coordinating minister. Thankfully, everyone is now on the same page and working in synergy. Further technical meetings will follow, and the proposals will be presented to the President. That will allow us to secure real implementation as soon as possible—the sooner, the better,” Aries said.

Earlier, Yusril said that reforming correctional facilities, including prisons and detention centres across Indonesia, was a serious concern for the government.

Yusril said his ministry and relevant agencies were discussing correctional reform comprehensively and systematically, from the beginning to the end of the process.

“We seriously discussed issues related to correctional reform in response to the findings made by the Ombudsman during its inspection of Cibinong Prison some time ago,” Yusril said after the cross-sector coordination meeting.