VELLORE: Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Dr Z Annie Vijaya on Thursday instructed prison officers, "Treat prisoners as humans and protect their prison rights." The DIG was speaking at Vellore at the inauguration of a three-day course on 'Prisoner's rights and entitlement-laws, policies and apparatus national and international perspective: an update'. As many as 40 officers from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and New Delhi were attending the course
According to Vijaya, it is the prison officers' duty to rehabilitate inmates, teach them skills, and help them connect with their families and society. Inmates often feel disconnected from society during their jail term, she said. Reformation measures implemented inside the prison will help inmates to not indulge in further offences, the DIG said.
The Academy of Prisons and Correctional Administration (APCA) in Vellore is conducting the course, sponsored by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), New Delhi. The module aims to focus on reformation and rehabilitation.
It may be noted the All India Jail Reform Committee 1980-83 recommended various rights of prisoners and prison discipline. APCA Director M Chandrasekhar, Deputy Director V Karuppannan, Professor Dr Beulah Immanuel were present.