Prisons need injection of funds to ease overcrowding

Prisons need injection of funds to ease overcrowding

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Every day, Abdul Gofar, a guard at Salemba penitentiary in
Central Jakarta, has to watch over more than 200 prisoners in two
blocks of the 14-block prison.

To do that he has a baton and a shield, which he carefully
conceals close to his private toilet, thinking that if the
prisoners see the equipment, it might well provoke violence in
the blocks he oversees.

"I will be happy if the government deploys more guards here,"
he said. "Fortunately I have been able to handle them so far. And
I hope nothing bad happens to me."

The four-hectare penitentiary, which is built to house 750
prisoners, has to accommodate at least 2,300 prisoners.

A three-square-meter cell, designed for one prisoner, now has
to take in three prisoners, while a large cell of 120 square
meters must accommodate 216 inmates.

At lunch time, the 216 inmates have to eat while inevitably
brushing against each other. Although the cell door is open, the
air in the cell is still dank.

"We cannot lock the prisoners up in their cells. Once we did
attempt to lock them up," said Toga Effendy, head of inmate
affairs in Salemba prison, who has worked there for 18 years.

"But the prisoners could not stand the heat. They almost
suffocated and some of them almost passed out," he said.

As a consequence, the prison's officers allow the prisoners to
roam around inside the prison. Many of them can be seen leisurely
sitting, chatting and smoking in the tiny gardens around their
cells.

Intervening in fights among prisoners is also a daily
occurrence for the guards.

"The crowded conditions have increased the pressure the
prisoners feel. To ease it, guards here have to smile a lot at
the prisoners, no matter what they really feel about them," said
Salemba penitentiary warden Haviluddin, who has occupied the post
for only the past two months.

"The number of inmates has soared since the reform era. I
think that since then economic problems have worsened. Moreover,
in the past few years, drug problems have also increased, adding
to the number of inmates across the country," he added.

However, the number of guards in Salemba is a mere 29, who
work on six-hour shifts around the clock. Thus, on average, one
security officer has to watch over about 80 prisoners.

"This is still far below the ideal ratio," Haviluddin said. "I
think the ideal ratio is at least one guard per 25 prisoners."

Cipinang penitentiary, in East Jakarta, also suffers from
overcrowding. The ten-hectare prison, which has 350 cells
designed to accommodate a total of 1,700 inmates, has to take in
about 2,500 prisoners.

In a separate interview, Ngusman, the warden of Cipinang
prison also said that in his observation, all prisons across the
country had been suffering from overcrowding since the reform era
began.

Drug crimes have contributed to the soaring number of
prisoners. Both penitentiary wardens separately estimated that
the number of inmates incarcerated due to drug-related crimes in
their prison now reached half of the overall inmate population.

To relieve the problem of overcrowding the Ministry of Justice
and Human Rights is undertaking projects to increase the capacity
of both prisons.

At Cipinang, prison buildings currently under construction are
expected to be able to take in 2,000 inmates. The buildings will
be ready in August this year.

In Salemba prison, a similar project is expected to be
completed by 2005. By the time the three-story buildings are
completed, the prison will be able to take in 3,000 inmates.

"However, I think 2005 is too far away. We urge the government
to raise the budget to speed up the completion of the buildings,"
Haviluddin said.

"Besides, we desperately need more guards here. We have urged
the government to increase the number of guards, but the
government says that they do not have enough money to pay them,"
he added.

Currently, the government has to set aside Rp 4,500 (about 50
US cents) for each prisoner to pay for their daily meals.

Considering the current state of affairs, it seems that the
government will have to somehow find the means to squeeze more
money out of the available resources.