NEW DELHI: There is a need for a conscious policy to improve prison systems and the living condition of prisoners, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said on Thursday, adding that there should be no scope of radicalization inside the prisons. Jail term should not aggravate prisoners’ sufferings and should help reform them, Reddy said calling for public participation for improving correctional processes.
The minister listed radicalisation of ordinary prisoners by terror undertrials and convicts as a key challenge for the prison administration Reddy was speaking at a national conference on ‘Criminal Activities and Radicalisation in Jails: Vulnerability of Inmates and Jail Staff and their Protection’, which was organized by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD).
“Sentence of imprisonment should lead to social defence against crime. Prison system should not be allowed to aggravate the sufferings in the process of imprisonment,” the minister of state for home said.
The minister said there is “immense scope” for work by voluntary agencies and NGOs in the treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation of offenders. Reddy said it is crucial to accept that the released prisoners are equal, respectable and productive members of the society.