Orange is the new black: Prison reforms to include colour-coded garb for inmates

Also contain plans for ‘load-shedding free’ jails with the help of solar panels, separate feeders.


Riaz Ahmad August 22, 2014

PESHAWAR:


If there ever was any confusion, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government will now ensure inmates on trial and convicts can be told apart by the colour of their uniform. Colour-coded garb is just one of several aspects of a comprehensive prison reform agenda being implemented, The Express Tribune learnt on Thursday.


An official of the prison department who is not authorised to speak to the media said the prison reform plan, initiated with the help of the K-P Home and Tribal Affairs department, has decided to divide the province into four zones. Each zone will be managed by a prison DIG.



“The main focus [of the reform plan] will be on the rehabilitation of prisoners,” shared the official. This will include teaching them technical skills, establishing workshops and computer literacy programmes, he added.  A profit share will be worked out for prisoners from the industrial workshops, said the official.

The new uniforms are just one part of the reform plan, he added.

“The aim is to encourage education and those who will pass their matric, intermediate and other degrees might receive some concession to their prison terms,” he said.

Of physical matters

If all goes according to plan, jail hospitals will be fully equipped. Procurement of medicine and equipment will be dealt with by a purchase committee in each district. The local MPA, deputy commissioner and other officials will be part of the committee and will ensure transparency, added the official.

“We are working on another plan to make jails ‘load-shedding free’ by installing solar panels—a project initiated by Home Secretary Akhtar Ali Shah,” the prison department official said. “Each jail will have a separate feeder and 11 jails across K-P have already been provided with water filtration plants.”

“High-security prisons are also planned for Manshera, Timergara, DI Khan and Bannu,” he explained. “The government has agreed to provide funds for these mega projects and work is in full swing.”

It also approved 22 new projects for jails, including 11 new and 11 on-going projects,” added the official.

“We are raising an 800-strong jail security force for which Rs30 million has been allocated by the provincial government,” he concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2014.

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