‘Jails are for rehab, not punishment’
Researchers and academicians Saturday asked authorities concerned to establish rehabilitation centres for convicts and under-trial prisoners languishing in various prisons across Punjab to make them useful members of society.
They expressed these views while speaking at a two-day workshop titled "Modernisation of Probation Services: Assessment of Risks, Needs of Prisoners" here at the Pir Mehr Ali Shah (PMAS) Arid Agricultural University.
They said the Punjab Probation and Parole Service Department should be made more active by increasing salaries, perks, and privileges of the employees.
Dean of the department of social sciences at the PMAS Arid Agricultural University, Professor Dr Abdul Saboor, Chairman of the Department of Criminology and Sociology, Professor Mazhar Hussain Bhutta, Department of Gender and Crime Lab Director of the University of Carleton, Canada Prof Shelley Brown, NAB Training and Research Additional Director Yusuf Khan among other participated in the workshop.
In his opening remarks, Professor Mazhar Hussain Bhutta stressed the need to make the rehabilitation of prisoners, convicts, and under-trial inmates more effective through counseling and other best practices.
The number of probation officers should also be enhanced to match the ratio of prisoners sent for probation, he said quoting government statistics.
He said some 55,687 prisoners and other inmates were sent on probation across Punjab jails, but the number of probation and parole officers deployed for their counseling is not sufficient to meet the challenge.
The counseling of prisoners can be made more effective by increasing the number of probation officers, he said, adding that the Punjab Probation and Parole Department is mandated to pull the inmates out of the crime world and make them productive citizens of the country.
Speaking about the mental health and social needs of the prisoners during the probation period, Professor Dr Abdul Saboor urged the authority concerned to devise a future strategy to cope with the challenges. He lauded the efforts of Professor Bhutta and his team for their valuable contributions. He hoped that the recommendations, prepared after perusing the prevailing system at the global level, would prove helpful for policymakers.
Professor Shelley Brown said he was working with Professor Bhutta for the last five years in the department of sociology and on various other forums.
A good theory and thinking for solving social problems will put us in the right direction, he said adding that it is high time to increase the efficiency of the officers attached to the Punjab Probation and Parole Department.
He said that various agencies around the world use more than 400 assessment tools with the help of which practical steps are taken to make prisoners useful citizens of society while living within the law. He also added that we should make use of these methods.
He suggested that the probation period for prisoners who are involved in serious crimes should be set between one to three years.
Other speakers said that increasing the efficiency of the probation officers, who play a key role in counseling prisoners should be increased in the context of international standards. Immediate steps should be taken to close the gap in the assessment and rehabilitation process, they said.
The probation officers of the Punjab Probation and Parole Department informed the participants about the issues and challenges faced by their institution.
As many as 15 probation officers of the Punjab Probation and Parole Department specially participated in the workshop besides PhD, MPhil and BS students of the sociology department.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2022.