This entirely reverses the purpose detention in police custody is meant to serve
KARACHI: A news report in a national daily about overcrowded prisons in Pakistan coincided with another story of Pakistan’s first juvenile court announcing its first verdict this week. The two news stories point at the problem of prisons and correctional facilities for the young. Although separate premises are allotted for “young offenders” in the country alongside the major jail/prison facilities, often juvenile offenders are kept in the same prisons as adult convicts.
This entirely reverses the purpose detention in police custody is meant to serve. As often many rather leave the prison as corrupt or expert criminals. It is important that when authorities deal with the matter of prisons accommodating more than their capacity they also build more prison facilities for young convicts too.
Aleena Shahid
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2018.
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