Prison Reforms
Checking, Correcting and Preventing Human Rights Violations through
Community Involvement in Prisons

Projects

Andhra Pradesh

With the background of experience in working with stakeholders of prison visiting system in other states, CHRI extended its programme to the state of Andhra Pradesh in August 2004 and undertook a study on the existing system of prison visiting in the state. The study primarily focused on the functioning of non-official visitors but did not exclude the concerns associated with it.

The objective of the study was to examine the present state of the statutorily mandated prison visiting system in Andhra Pradesh and to make practical recommendations for its improvement. In particular, CHRI studied how prison visitors are selected; what criteria is used to identify and finalise nominations; what understanding Non-official visitors have of their roles, responsibilities, rules and laws that govern the prison; whether visitors fulfill duties and functions according to the statutory guidelines in the prison manual and court judgments that form part of the law; what is outlined in the constitution of visiting boards in terms of the periodicity of visits, the processing of visiting notes and of action taken on the observations made by visitors; and the mutual perceptions and the relationships between the prison visitors and prison staff.

The report and its observations are based on visits to 20 prisons between January 2005 and July 2005 by a study team that interviewed 66 prisoners, 53 non-official visitors, 17 prison doctors, 11 judicial and legal aid officers, retired prison officers, social workers in the prisons and 7 district magistrates. The secondary data for the study was collected from prison headquarters. In order to ensure a sound empirical basis for recommendations we reviewed data, administered questionnaires to all the officials and non-officials concerned with the prison visiting system, and supplemented these with personal interviews with prisoners, prison staff, district magistrates, retired prison officers and Non-official visitors.

CHRI completed the study on prison visiting system and submitted it to the government with practical recommendations for its improvement. This, and the personal visit of CHRI's Director to the Home Secretary, Chief Justice of AP High Court and the Chairman of State Legal Services Authority triggered a series of steps taken by various agencies of the CJS for good governance in prisons. These include:

• CHRI organized a workshop to prison visitors and senior prison officers on the efficacy of Prison Visiting System on 27 March 2005.

• On the basis of CHRI's recommendations, the Government issued directions to all the district magistrates to take steps for the effective functioning of prison visiting system. Click here for the memo issued to all the district collector by Paul Bhuyan.

• The Government extended the prison visiting system from a mere 20 prisons to all 141 prisons in the state.

• The Government began to implement our recommendation on the constitution of Boards of Prison Visitors.

• The government began to circulate CHRI's prison visitors' handbook to prison authorities, district collectors, prison visitors and judicial officers.

• Coordination and intercommunication among various organs of government - prison department, home department, district collectors, state human rights commissions and prison visitors - has substantially increased after CHRI's intervention.

• On the basis of recommendations of CHRI, the judiciary and State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) have set up mechanisms to ensure better communication and thereby to reduce the overcrowding in prisons. Click here for the circulars issued by Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority.

• The state legal aid authority has agreed to implement all CHRI's recommendations to improve the delivery of legal aid to indigent prisoners.

• Forthcoming is a brochure (in Telugu and Urdu) on the rights and duties of prisoners that will be provided by convicting or trial magistrates to persons remanded to prisons.

• The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is convinced of the need to focus on deaths in prisons and the need to evolve appropriate prison medical policy. This resulted in an enquiry into the problem and SHRC has sought the assistance of CHRI.

Madhya Pradesh

We started with the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1998 by organizing a workshop on rights of prisoners and problems of prison staff in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission [MPHRC]. As a direct outcome of this initiative, the MPHRC undertook a state-wide study of prison conditions and came out with a report titled – ‘Conditions of Prisons in Madhya Pradesh' (November 1998) where it called on the state government to initiate reforms in the prisons of the state as well as to improve the working conditions of the prison staff.

In February 1999, CHRI undertook a sample study in seven prisons of the state to assess the status of the prison visiting system. CHRI found that inspite of it’s potential to monitor prison conditions, the system was defunct and suffered from a number of problems. The findings of this study were discussed in a state-wide seminar in July 2000 organised in collaboration with the MPHRC. Click here for the PDF format of the report.

This seminar brought to light the reasons for the poor performance of visitors. The participating prison visitors, NGOs and reform-oriented prison officers requested CHRI to organize training programmes for non-official prison visitors to help them do their job in a better manner.

Encouraged by this positive response of the participants, CHRI went on to organize three regional training programmes in the state covering all the prisons where visitors were appointed till July 2001. The workshop agenda, reports and impact can be obtained from the links under Workshops.

Realizing the need to have a comprehensive handbook to help the visitors in discharging their obligations in a better manner, CHRI has now developed a practical handbook for use by prison visitors. To view the PDF version of this report please click here. To obtaine a hard copy of the report please click here to send an email to us.

The agenda for the next phase of our work in the state is to engage with the Ex-officio Visitors to prisons as well as actively advocate with all the concerned agencies of the state to take a coordinated approach to speed up the pace of reforms.

Rajasthan

Recently the Ministry of Home and Justice, Government of Rajasthan had invited CHRI to assess the prison visiting system in the state and help in it’s re-invigoration, apart from helping it in the revision of the prison manual for the state. CHRI then conducted a study on the prison visiting system and other issues concerned with prisons in the state.The study was conducted in 27 of the state's 100 prisons. [A properly edited report would soon be uploaded here]. CHRI then presented the findings of the study in a recently held conference at the state capital, Jaipur and elicited promises from the Prisons department, Department of Home and Justice, the State Human Rights Commission,etc. for the reinvigoration of the prison visiting system in the state.The report of the conference would soon be uploaded.

CHRI now plans to conduct atleast three training programmes for the appointed non-official prison visitors in the next 12 months and coordinate with the institutions mentioned above to revise the system.