Best Prison Practices - Upneet Lalli HRLN

1. BEST PRISON PRACTICES
Dr. Upneet Lalli
Deputy Director ICA,
Chandigarh.

2. Definition
Best practices are defined by the United Nations and the
International Community at large as a successful
initiative which:
 Have a demonstrable and tangible impact on improving
people’s quality of life;
 Are the result of effective partnership between private
and civil sectors of society;
 Are socially, culturally, economically and environmentally
sustainable.

3. IT IS A SUCCESSFUL, GOAL – ORIENTED
CORRECTIONAL INITIATIVE THAT IMPACTS
ON EVERYDAY OPERATION

4. U.N. STANDARDS FOR TREATMENT OF
PRISONERS
a) Body of Principles for the protection of all persons
under any form of detention of imprisonment,
adopted in December, 1988
b) Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, 1990
c) Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of
Prisoners approved by U.N. in 1957 and adopted in
1985.now revised Mandela Rules 2015.
d) Bangkok Rules for Women Prisoners 2010.
e) Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of
those facing death penalty

5. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
PROJECT ON BEST PRISON PRACTICES
(i) Identify the best practices in different prisons of the
country.
(ii) Establish a benchmark for the good practices
(iii) Study the perceptions of stakeholders towards the
best practices
(iv) Study the organizational culture of prisons with best
practices

6. PRISON STATISTICS – 2014
 Total Number of Jails - 1387
 Total Prison Population - 4,18,536
 Authorized Capacity - 3,56,561
 Total Number of Convicts - 1,31,517
 Total Number of Undertrials - 2,82,879
 Occupancy Rate - 117.4%

7. EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES (EBP) IN
A CORRECTIONAL SETTING
The Principle of Effective Intervention, one
of the first principles of EBP is to assess
the risk (likelihood of re-offending) and
needs of offenders using actuarial means.

8. Areas of Best Prison Practices
 Prison Security
 Use of Technology in Prisons
 Security and Prison Management
 Information Dissemination
 Staff Development
 Managerial Practices
 Prisoners’ Contact with Outside World

9.  Grievance Redressal
 Health and Medical Facilities
 Food
 Educational, Vocational and Cultural Programmes
 Shops in and outside prisons
 Religious, Meditational and Spiritual programmes and
recreational activities/sports activities
 Community involvement
 Creative Art/ Cultural Therapy

10.  Women Prisoners – Vocational Training Programmes
 Children in Prisons
 Environment
 Legal Aid
 Special Courts
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11. SOME INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES OF
BEST PRISON PRACTICES
 Tele-Medicine (Technology) – U.S.A
Started in States of Ohio, Texas, California in
1990s.
The most common benefits
 Improved security
 Personal Safety
 Cost Savings
 And access to specialists

12.  Yellow Ribbon Project (Community Involvement) –
SINGAPORE
Objectives
 Crate awareness of the need to give second chance to
ex-offenders
 Generate acceptance of ex-offenders and their families
in the community
 Inspire community action to support the rehabilitation
and re-integration of ex-offenders

13.  Needle and Syringe Programme
(De-addiction and HIV/AIDS ) –NSP_ Started in
Switzerland in 1992 and since then introduced in
60 prisons in Germany, Spain, Belarus, Iran and
some other countries.
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14. SOME BEST PRISON PRACTICES IN INDIA
 Technology
 Security, Video Conferencing,
CCTV – Tihar, Delhi ,Tamil Nadu.
CCTV in most states.
 Health and Medical Facilities
 Drug de-addiction centre/ – Delhi,
 VCCTC & Hospice for women and men with HIV –
West Bengal
 Intake Screening examination – Tamil Nadu

15.  Educational and Vocational Training
 IGNOU,
 National Open School
 Computer Centre,
 Engineering, MBA, DCA,
 Carpentry,
 Bakery,
 Pottery,
 Shoe-making,
 Sculptures making,
 soap and phenyl making

16.  Work programmes outside prisons
 Petrol Pump
 Agriculture
 Tea shop
 Pakoda
 Shops
 General Store
 Paan House
 Cycle Repair
 Farming in Sugarcane Research Institute
 CSR –Use –mobile shops

17.  Reducing Undertrial Population
 Jail Adalats
 Section 436-A
 Plea Bargaining
 Special Courts on monthly basis
 Legal Aid Services
 Modernization of Kitchens
Modern kitchen
Stainless steel cooking vessels and trolleys
Gloves, caps and special dresses while
cooking food

18. 18
OPEN PRISONS - 2014
Open Prisons 54
Authorized Capacity 5070
Number of Prison Inmates 3799
Occupancy Rate 74.9%
Open Prisons facilitates reintegration of offenders

19. Plantation in Open Prisons
 Rubber plantation
 Cashew plantation
 Herbal plants

20. Nursery @ Open Air Jail
Poly House Green House

21. Gobar/ Bio Gas Plant @
Open Air Jail
Compost collection

22.  Open Prisons
 54 Open Prisons in India
 as per Prison Statistics 2014
 Rehabilitation Fund
 Training kit
 Wages and rehabilitation fund
 Housing loan for prisoners
 Community Participation
 Gurdwara meet
 NGO participation
 Games/ Sports
 Providing Stationery, computers, fees
 Providing counselors

23. Video Conferencing in
Himachal Pradesh
E-Prison Software in Himachal
Pradesh has been made part of the
web portal of criminal justice
system which is a common portal
of police, judiciary, prosecution,
FSL and jail.
The JailVaarta Project of H.P.
prisons Deptt. was awarded ‘The
Mantham – South Asia and Asia
Pacific Award, 2014 under E-
Governance category.

24. Video Conferencing Mulaqat- in H.P
Prisons.
The Advantages of JailVaarta are as
under:
1. More than one visitor / relative
can interact from their house;
2. No social stigma attached to
going to the prisons;
3. Savings of Travel time and
money of relatives/visitors;
4. No chances of contraband/illegal
items passed on to prisoners;
5. The investigating officers of the
police can question undertrial
prisoners through Jailvaarta.
6. Jailvaarta facility is free of cost
for the prison inmates.
7. All security features have been
incorporated in Jailvaarta.

25. Activities of Central Jail Patiala
1. Skill Development Centre
consisting of Beauty Parlor,
Embroidery, Tailoring are
run in women ward.
2. A modern Theater with
Projector and Surrounded
Sound has been opened for
inmates
3. Modern-De-addiction
Centre is also being run on
the guidelines of PGI,
Chandigarh.
4. This jail has its own
Bhangra and Orchestra
Team.

26. Campus Placement at
Tihar, Prison New Delhi
Placement at Tihar :

27. Piped natural
gas
Rain water
harvesting
Daily garbage
disposal
Sewage treatment
plant
Tree plantation
LED & CFL lights
Solar water
heaters
Apiculture
project
Earth hours

28. Mobile units for selling
products