Accelerating the Improvement of Prison Manpower

AFP/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN

Police officers arrest prisoners who escaped from the Class II A correctional institution in Reuloh, Ingin Jaya district, Aceh Besar, on Friday (30/11/2018). Police have rearrested 30 of the 113 jailbreakers, who got out by damaging windows of the prison.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The riot that led to the escape of 113 inmates in the Class IIA penitentiary in Banda Aceh showed that overcapacity was not the only penitentiary problem that should be resolved. Another major task is to improve the quantity and quality of prison security guards.

Of the 113 inmates that escaped from Banda Aceh’s Class IIA penitentiary by breaking through iron windows and fences, 30 had been recaptured as of Friday (30/11/2018) evening. In order to arrest the remaining 83, the police will include them on its most-wanted list (DPO).

The riot that took place in Banda Aceh’s Class IIA penitentiary on Thursday was not the first incident this year. On Jan. 4, a number of inmates in the penitentiary set several cells and a police patrol car on fire. At the time, the riot was incited by drug convict Gunawan’s refusal to be moved from the penitentiary to another one in North Sumatra.

During the riot, the penitentiary was not at overcapacity. Law and Human Rights Ministry penitentiary director general Sri Puguh Budi Utami said in Jakarta on Friday that the penitentiary had 726 inmates of its full capacity of 800.

However, at the time of the riot, the penitentiary only had 10 guards on duty, comprising three civil servants and seven civil servant candidates.

Policy change

Sri Puguh said that she believed the riot on Thursday was also triggered by several inmates’ disappointment over policy changes. Under the leadership of a new warden, processing leave permits for inmates became harder.

The situation caused three inmates to make a scene near the outer fence. It then turned into a full-blown riot after 300 other inmates attacked security guards and broke windows and window bars by using the barbells provided at the prison’s sports facilities.

When security guards tried to overcome the inmates, the inmates retaliated by using liquid believed to be chili pepper water.

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

An officer checks a window that was broken by prisoners to escape from the Class II A correctional institution in Reuloh, Ingin Jaya district, Aceh Besar, on Friday (30/11/2018). At least 113 prisoners escaped during the jailbreak, and 30 have since been arrested again.

Head of the Aceh regional office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry, Agus Toyib, said that he believed the prison escape was planned. “There is the possibility of [neglect by security guards] due to the limited number of guards available,” he said.

According to him, there had been no indication of any possible riot before the actual incident.

Aceh Police chief Insp. Gen. Rio Septian Djambak said that all escapees would be recaptured sooner or later. Rio urged all the escapees to turn themselves in. “I urge all escapees to turn themselves in within 72 hours,” he said.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said that the police would include all 83 inmates still at large on a DPO list that would be distributed throughout all of Aceh.

“With the DPO list distributed, the Aceh Police will ask neighboring police forces to prepare a manhunt in order to corner all the escapees,” Dedi said.

Evaluation

House of Representatives Commission III member Nasir Djamil said that a thorough evaluation on security and guard training systems in penitentiaries was necessary following the riot.

Center for Detention Studies (CDS) director Ali Aranoval said that there were several problems that could lead to problems in prisons. Overcapacity and inadequate facilities are among the most common causes, while the lack of prison guard integrity and capacity may also make things worse. This could be resolved through intensive education and training.

“Officers determine everything [in penitentiaries]. Often, officers have worked for decades in the same penitentiary, making them a dominant force within. Transfers of wardens between prisons are not effective enough to improve prison management. At the same time, there must also be proper promotion and transfer systems at the lower levels,” Ali said.

Apart from prison guards’ skills and integrity, the inadequate number of prison guards is also a problem.

AFP/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN

Police officers arrest prisoners who escaped from the Class II A correctional institution in Reuloh, Ingin Jaya district, Aceh Besar, on Friday (30/11/2018).

Kompas records show that, this year, there are 19,960 prison guards and 251,203 inmates nationwide. Therefore, one prison guard is responsible for 13 inmates. This ratio is better than that in 2017, when one prison guard was responsible for 19 inmates. This ratio improvement is inseparable from the recruitment of new employees, especially guards, by the Law and Human Rights Ministry in 2017.

Nevertheless, Sri Puguh said that she hoped more personnel would be added to improve prison security.

Overcapacity

While waiting for additional prison guards to be hired, the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s penitentiary directorate general would continue to resolve the problem of overcapacity. This year, prisons nationwide have a total capacity of 125,827 inmates, while the actual number of inmates is 251,203. This means that there is an overcapacity of around 100 percent.

Among the proposed efforts to overcome this problem is the increasing support for the accommodation of alternative correctional measures other than imprisonment in the Criminal Code draft bill. “With alternative punishments, such as social work, not all convicts must go to prison. This will indirectly reduce the number of inmates and the state’s financial burden,” Sri Puguh said.

Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) executive director Anggara said that Indonesia’s law enforcement was currently too oriented toward imprisonment. Of the 23 available alternative punishments other than imprisonment, only three are accommodated in the Criminal Code draft bill, namely social work, probation and intermittent sentences on weekends.

(REK/SAN/AIN)