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Govt spends too much on prison needs: Experts
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In ruins – Fire fighters and security officers assess vehicles and buildings after extinguishing a fire at Banceuy Prison in Bandung regency, West Java, following a riot on April 23. (Tempo/Prima Mulia)
The government is spending too much on logistics in prisons due to its repressive judicial system, experts say.
Instead of providing rehabilitation services, the government tends to imprison drug suspects, causing prison overcrowding, they said, citing an example.
Indonesia has 183,000 prisoners detained in 477 penitentiaries, which are actually designed to accommodate 118,000 inmates, according to data.
Center for Detention Studies director Ali Aranoval said the cost of one prisoner meal was around Rp 11,000 (83 US cents) in penitentiaries and Rp 40,000 in the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) detention center. This meant the government had to spend at least Rp 2 billion a year on food for prisoners, he added.
“It would be better if the government could allocate such a high prisoner cost of living to other sectors, such as education,” Ali said in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to the Law and Human Rights Ministry, drug-related prisoners account for around 35 percent of the 183,000 inmates in the country.
Institute of Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) legal expert Erasmus Napitupulu said such a situation occurred because drug-related suspects tended to be imprisoned rather than put in rehabilitation centers.
Ali shared similar concerns. He said there were options other than imprisonment, including house arrest. “Detention centers should be the last resort of our penal system,” he said.
According to an ICJR study, the number of detainees and prisoners doubled from 71,500 to 144,000 from 2004 to 2011, while prison capacity increased by less than 2 percent.
“It means there will always be prison overcapacity problems every year,” Erasmus said.
He added that in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, the overcapacity level in prisons stood at 662 percent, while in Bagansiapiapi, Riau, it could reach 1,000 percent.
In several cases, overcapacity has led to riots in prisons. Reports revealed several riots occurred in prisons around Indonesia, including the latest case at Banceuy penitentiary in Bandung on April 23. Previously, riots have broken out at Kerobokan prison in Bali on April 21, Tewaan Bitung detention center in North Sulawesi on April 6, Malabero prison in Bengkulu on March 25, Rajabasa prison in Lampung on March 18 and Muara Bulian prison in Jambi on March 17. (vps/ebf)
