It is anticipated that prisons population could be reduced as much as by half between by the year 2015, according to a presentation made at the 2nd Heads of Pacific Islands Corrections Conference in Suva yesterday.
Staff Officer Administration, ASP Salote Panapasa, in summarising her presentation, said that number of prisoners under community correction and parole could be as high as 600 to 800 when early release programmes under the new Fiji Prisons and Corrections Act 2008 and other enabling legislations come into effect after 2010.
Prison population has reduced from over 1200 in 2005 to the current average of 850 in all the prisons around the country.
ASP Panapasa was part of a panel on the topic ‘Community Based Corrections – Alternative to Imprisonment’ which included the chief magistrate Naomi Matanitobua , traditional leader Ratu FIlimoni Ralogaivau and church representative Rev Tuikoro Kolinisau.
The forum was an opportunity to showcase the unique Fiji situation where the state, vanua and lotu can work together in the rehabilitation and correction of offenders.
Among the conclusions of ASP Panapasa are,
• Fiji to adopt a Community Correction Model of Operation
• We should have a fully operational community corrections, integrated into the Fiji Correctional system
• We should have a fully functional Parole Board, integrated into the Ministry of Justice including Prisons and Community Corrections.
• The fully operational community corrections and the Parole Board in Fiji would assist in the front-end and back-end diversion of offenders and prisoners from prisons(reducing prisons overcrowding).
• It is anticipate that the prisons population could be reduced as much as by half, and the offender number on community corrections and parole could increase as much as 600-800.
For more go to HOPICC papers