There is humanity and restorative ideals in Pacific prison culture that should be built upon, says Barry Apsey, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of the Solomon Islands.
Mr Apsey observed that there was always a “very major emphasis” on the role of the church and that community should have a “strong says” in alternative sentencing.
He was the guest speaker on the second day of the 2nd Heads of Pacific Islands Corrections Conference in Suva on the topic ‘The Past, Present and Future Development of Corrections in the Pacific”
“Notwithstanding, whilst much of the colonial inheritance was relatively punitive, in the Pacific cultures there was always a very major emphasis on the role of the church and individual pastors in the lives of the prisons,” Mr Apsey says.
“Visiting, praying and church services were a mainstream activity in Solomon Islands prisons, and certainly much more so than would have been the case in Australia during those post independence decades.
“So in some aspects the Pacific prison cultures have been more restorative and correctional in focus than those in Australia at the same time. In a real sense there was a humanity and existence of a rehabilitative ideal based on personal repentance and godliness.”
Mr Apsey says that unless the communities have a strong say in the development of custodial alternatives.
“There will be insufficient confidence by the community in whatever sanctions are applied in regard to individuals and these will be discredited,” he says. “Empowering communities to take responsibility for maintaining peace at local levels will also enable the formal sector to concentrate on more serious matters.
“Fundamentally there needs to be an open dialogue win regard the role of the churches in the development of less formal alternatives. As mentioned earlier if kastom is distorted it can result in abuses such as the outrageous claims...”.