Number of inmates exceed capacity by 290 percent

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Sri Lankan prisons has exceeded their capacity by 290 percent, Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya says.Commenting on a report on prison overcrowding by the National Audit Office, which states that there are 232 percent more inmates in prisons by the end of 2022, Upuldeniya said prison congestion had taken a turn for the worse.

“The prison population has been increasing rapidly in the past few years. If you look at some urban prisons, they exceed capacity by well over 300 percent. Technically, we can hold about 11,700 prisoners. There are 32,735 by 23 January 2024,” he said.

The National Audit Office shows that the prison population had dropped by 2019, but there had been a spike by 2022. Upuldeniya said the numbers dropped in 2019 and 2020 because they fast-tracked the bail process due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the end of COVID, things have gone back to chaotic normal. We have been grappling with prison overcrowding for a long time.”

Upuldeniya said the economic crisis and social issues that are linked with the crisis are directly linked with the spike in population.

“Drug abuse is one of the main reasons why the prison population has increased. Out of the 32,735 inmates, 17,071 are there because of drugs.”

Drug addicts end up in prison because of their methods, he said. The courts sent one group of people to prison, and the others are those in remand custody. Prison officials are not able to systematically rehabilitate those who are in remand custody.

“The overwhelming majority of drug addicts in prisons are those in remand custody. Only about 4,500 addicts have been sent to prison by courts after the completion of legal proceedings. We are rehabilitating them.”

Upuldeniya said, according to the audit report, the prison system needs 187 more toilets. However, the department has received about 300 million rupees from this year’s Budget to develop sanitation facilities.

“About 39 percent of the inmates are repeat offenders. However, there is a lot of variance. It’s usually those addicted to drugs who are incarcerated again and again. The real question is whether the prison system is the best place to rehabilitate drug addicts? Recovering from addiction is not simple. We can keep an addict away from drugs for a few months, but when they go home, they go to an environment where accessing drugs is easy. A lot of addicts want to relocate to a new place.”

Upuldeniya said sometimes entire families are addicted to drugs.

He noted that the problem has been exacerbated with more people coming into prisons because of the Yukthiya operation.

“In 2022, Sri Lanka spent 8.3 billion rupees to maintain the prison system. The total estimated expenditure for 2024 is about 14 billion rupees. Out of this, six billion rupees will be spent on food. In 2023, we spent about 483 rupees per day per inmate for rations alone. If we add electricity, water, etc., we spend about 900 rupees to maintain a prisoner a day.”

Upuldeniya said they are now looking at planting crops on the land they own. They are also opening facilities like bakeries.

He added that about three percent of inmates have no formal education. About 92 percent of inmates have studied up to O/Ls.

“There are currently 73 inmates involved in the drug trade who have received the death penalty. 347 have received life sentences. They are not eligible for any pardons.”

Upuldeniya said about 150 prisoners escape each year, and most escape from open-air camps. There are also about 1,600 vacancies in prisons.

“The total approved cadre is around 7,300 officers. We have a big shortage of wardens. The approved cadre is 4,444, but there are over 700 vacancies. We have received approval to recruit 300 this year. We are also trying to recruit about 500 wardens from among soldiers who might have to leave the Army due to downsizing,” he said.