Shinde for ‘alternative’ modes of punishment
Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday pitched for alternative modes of punishment to convicts, saying sending such people to jail has many adverse effects, including trauma for their children and family. The home minister was addressing the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators in New Delhi.
Comparing statistics with other countries, the home minister said the occupancy rate in Indian jails was 112.2 per cent in 2012 which has come down gradually from a high of 145.4 per cent in 2005. “The incarceration rate in India per lakh of population is 32 prisoners in comparison with 130 in Australia, 149 in UK and 716 in US. In fact, in US, roughly 1 per cent of their population is incarcerated,” he said.
Mr Shinde said most of the prisoners consist of first time offenders involved in technical or minor violations of the law and constitute 90 per cent of the prison population. Roughly two-thirds are under-trials and this ratio has remained constant, he said.
Mr Shinde said in most countries, imprisonment is the main punitive measure imposed on individuals who have been convicted of criminal offence. He said the society’s expectations from the criminal justice system, particularly from the prison and correctional administration, are wide, varied and sometimes even being in conflict with each other. “However, overemphasis on imprisonment has many adverse effects. It not only adversely affects the individuals, but also the families. The trauma of the imprisonment of a member of the family together with economic factors causes tremendous pressure on the families,” he told the gathering of representatives from 20 countries of the Asian Pacific region and from the states and Union Territories in India. He said he was aware of the problems and challenges that confront the correctional service system of the country as a majority of the people lodged in prisons belong to the under-privileged sections of the society.
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