CHANDIGARH: In a first-of-its-kind survey in the country, the Punjab government from today will start a survey of approximately 14,000 jail inmates, who were found to have tested positive for drug abuse, to know the exact causes of their addiction.
The survey result, according to sources, will help the government in charting out anti-drug abuse programs for them.
At present around 46 per cent of prisoners in Punjab are addicted to drugs, as per findings of a drug screening conducted on 30,000 jail inmates.
As part of the survey, 85 questions will be asked to each prisoner and their identity will not be revealed as the whole survey will be in a coded format so that it is kept confidential.
This is a follow-up to a drug screening project of the jail department which had found that more than 14,000 prisoners in the state were drug addicts. The survey will be conducted in all 25 jails with the help of around 350 volunteers (students of various universities and institutions) will be over in 12 days.
Eighty-five questions of the new survey will include all the factors (both inside and outside prison) which may have a substantial impact on the addiction or de-addiction status of the prisoners.
These factors include geographical factors, psycho-social factors, socio-economic factors, policing, prison specific and de-addiction.
The questions will address the suggestions or ways as communicated by prisoners themselves about improving de-addiction in jails.
They will also be about how can authorities effectively detect drugs in and outside the jails; how inmates manage to get drugs in the jails and outside; how to improve the peer support system for de-addiction; how do inmates manage to live when they are unable to get drugs; how can prevention programs be made more effective, and so forth?
Also, the prisoners will be asked about the length of their stay in jail; how many times have they been to jail; their income level and education; and what is their occupations, etc?
The idea of this survey before the government was put forward by Harpreet Singh Sidhu Special DGP (Prisons) before the Punjab Jail Minister Harjit Singh Bains and the Additional Chief Secretary (Jails) KAP Sinha, both of whom approved the program.
The survey will be a joint effort between the Jail Department and the Special Task Force on drugs (STF).
DE-ADDICTING PUNJAB JAILS
The Punjab government from today will start a survey of approximately 14,000 jail inmates, who were found to have tested positive for drug abuse.
85 questions will be asked to each prisoner and their identity will not be revealed.
Questions of the new survey will include all the factors which may have a substantial impact on the addiction or de-addiction status of the prisoners.
Factors include geographical factors, psycho-social factors, socio-economic factors, policing, prison-specific and de-addiction.
46% of prisoners in Punjab are addicted to drugs Prisoners have been found to be using drugs like morphine, tramadol and buprenorphine.