12 pathways to prison reform
In the Swedish prison model, human rights are given due deference. So why call inmates as ‘persons deprived of liberty’ or the self-deprecating PDL tag?
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In the Swedish prison model, human rights are given due deference. So why call inmates as ‘persons deprived of liberty’ or the self-deprecating PDL tag?
It has become expedient for the State to effect bold approaches that would eventually address the problems obtained in contemporary prison arrangements. For one, the objective is to reduce heavy government subsidy pegged at P74K per inmate, and for another, to decongest prisons toward the social reintegration of offenders. Let's walk the "12 Pathways to Prison Reform," to wit:
One, the duration of detention without being sentenced should drop from an average of nine months to three months. Accordingly, pre-trial incarcerations should fall from 75 percent to 25 percent.
Speedy trial is the way forward — not postponement of hearings nor slow disposition of criminal cases.
Two, irrespective of prison population or size, every jail or prison should have a medical facility with medical staff for basic healthcare and disease/death prevention. Roving doctors or "doctors-on-call" have proved a dismal failure.
Three, drug-related cases that clog court dockets should plunge from 70 percent to 20 percent. In turn, it will significantly depopulate prisons. Structural impediments, if any, could be the proper subject of remedial legislative measures.
Four, discriminate in favor of detainees/prisoners with only high school or elementary level of education. There is established sociological proof of the vulnerability of persons below college-level education to abuse by police or law enforcement authority.
Five, review the duration of incarceration of inmates in national prisons targeting that half of them be evaluated for favorable release especially those who may be found not to know their rights against involuntary admission.
Six, contract out private management of prisons toward reduction of costs from 25 percent to 5 percent. Present-day developments prove that the government has failed and has gone native (i.e. regulatory capture) leading no less than the justice secretary to reference BuCor as a "criminal organization" in itself.
Seven, advance radical steps to lower the prison population at NBP from 28,545 to 6,435 or a 77 percent drop. Controlling the inmate population in prisons and jails to ideal congestion rates requires creative techniques and metrics never before tried.
Eight, ensure there are more female prison personnel than male to bring a more humane prison environment. This civilian complement with expertise in psychology, sociology, and social work may have better skillsets — at all levels of leadership and management — to transform prison life into a treatment, rehabilitation, and community center for social reintegration than those with a "powder-keg mentality.
Nine, release on their own recognizance without guarantors those awaiting trials if the risk of further criminal conduct is evidently slim. Since prison is itself a microcosm of society, proxy indicators of good behavior could be a reliable determinant, among other metrics, if they can be granted this contingent privilege.
Ten, victimless crimes such as vagrancy, drunkenness, and gambling should be decriminalized. Decriminalization is the most effective route toward depopulating prisons since it cuts the umbilical cord of state subsidy; removes the "multiplier effect" in prison congestion; rids the government of the "tragedy of the commons". Prisons should not be an open door for literally — free board and lodging.
Other diversion programs are just as helpful.
Eleven, allow constitutional rights such as freedom of religion, and due process and shun cruel and unusual punishment to give inmates the rights as those inviolable liberties that ordinary citizens enjoy. In the Swedish prison model, human rights are given due deference. So why call inmates as "persons deprived of liberty" or the self-deprecating PDL tag?
Twelve, determine beyond the metric of time — punishment for criminal deeds such that only dangerous offenders or for whom other punitive measures have failed — should be imprisoned. Doing the math in terms of ratios and proportions could help.
In fine, no amount of police or military-styled prison management works as he who can't break a horse cannot lead. Police or military generals obviously don't fit their suit as BuCor head — no sure-fire guarantee of lawfulness, orderliness, or accomplishment of objectives of what a prison should be.
As Michel Foucault advocates for more humane prisons, let's here and now establish the pathways to decongestion.
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