One Hundred Years On: Have Prisons Switched from Deterrence to Reform?
| Published date | 01 October 2021 |
| Author | MADHURIMA DHANUKA |
| Date | 01 October 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12444 |
The Howard Journal Vol60 No S1. October 2021 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12444
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 92–108
One Hundred Years On: Have
Prisons Switched from Deterrence to
Reform?
MADHURIMA DHANUKA
Programme Head, Prison Reforms Programme, Commonwealth Human
Rights Initiative, New Delhi, India
Abstract: Today over 1.5 million people are imprisoned in Commonwealth countries and
the average occupancy level is 129%. The rise in prison populations is often attributed
to the existence of punitive systems that have failed to fulfil the rehabilitative purpose
of imprisonment. This article sets forth pertinent data on prisons in the Commonwealth
nations, which have evolved from common colonial histories and traditions, to highlight
perennial problems within the system. To further illustrate these concerns, it delves into a
reflection from the findings of the Report of the Indian Jails Committee, 1919–20, and
the Indian prison system of today. In doing this, the article encapsulates the journey of
reforms implemented in the last 100 years in India.
Keywords: Commonwealth; imprisonment; policy reforms; prisons; reforms;
statistics
‘The whole point of view needs to be altered, not merely isolated details’
noted the Indian Jails Committee on prison administration and the refor-
mative approach in its report of 1919–20 (Mulvany 1921, p.66). A hundred
years on, this statement continues to hold true in the context of prisons in
most parts of the world, including those in the Commonwealth. The sys-
temic neglect of prisons in many countries has resulted in inadequate re-
sources, management, oversight and accountability mechanisms (United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2020). Punitive systems have con-
tributed to rising prison populations by failing to fulfil the rehabilitative
purpose of imprisonment (Penal Reform International 2020).
Today over eleven million people are imprisoned globally. One-
hundred-and-two countries report prison occupancy levels above 110%
(Penal Reform International 2020). The global female prisoner population
has doubled in the last 20 years, and the number of people who are on re-
mand outnumber convicted people in at least 46 countries (Penal Reform
International 2020). The year 2020, marred with the Covid-19 pandemic,
has also been a year where prisons have witnessed unprecedented public
92
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2021 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
The Howard Journal Vol60 No S1. October 2021
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 92–108
attention with calls from many quarters to decongest prisons and to pri-
oritise the health and well-being of prisoners (United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime 2020). The pandemic has expounded the concerns of
overcrowding and inadequate health care within prisons.
It would be unfair to suggest that in the last 100 years prisons have not
changed at all. While there have been changes, certainly no seismic shifts
have occurred. This article is an enquiry into these changes. It shares per-
tinent data on prisons in the Commonwealth and reflects on the findings
of the Report of the Indian Jails Committee, 1919–20 (Indian Jails Committee
1920), and the Indian prison system of today. India with its 1,350 prisons
has the highest number of prisons in the Commonwealth,1and presents an
interesting insight into the journey of reforms implemented in the last 100
years. The article highlights how certain areas continue to receive little or
no attention and require an alternation of the ‘whole point of view’ when
it comes to reforming prisons.
Prisons in the Commonwealth
Bound together by a shared colonial history and tradition, values and prin-
ciples, the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries of
Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Pacific (The Commonwealth 2020). The
roots of the majority of the Commonwealth nations go back to the British
Empire. An analysis of the available data and information on imprisonment
in the Commonwealth countries sheds some light on issues and concerns
faced by prison systems in these nations.
Nearly 14% of the world’s prison population is located in the Common-
wealth. A large number of these 1.5 million prisoners are people awaiting
trial. Their average period of detention is increasing each day. Tab l e 1 gives
an understanding of the trends and patterns that emerge from data avail-
able on prisons in the Commonwealth. It sets out information on num-
ber of prisoners, number of prisons, percentage share of pretrial detainees
and women prisoners as provided for the various Commonwealth Member
States in the World Prison Brief website.
Some of the interesting figures that emerge from the analysis of prison
statistics from the Commonwealth countries are given below:
(i) Occupancy rate:AsperTa b l e 1 the average occupancy rate of prison-
ers in the Commonwealth countries stands at 129.8%, with 39 countries
having rates above 100%. In Uganda, the occupancy rates are as high as
319.2%, followed by Zambia (303.0%), Grenada (232.3%) and Sierra Leone
(220.2%).
(ii) Number of prisons and prison population rate: Of the 3,668 prisons in
the Commonwealth, India has the highest number of prisons (1,350), fol-
lowed by Uganda (254) and Nigeria (240). Rwanda has the highest prison
population rate (per 100,000) at 511, followed by Maldives at 499 and the
Bahamas at 442.
(iii) Pre-trial detention rates: Incarceration trends across the Common-
wealth show that in 28 countries the pretrial detention rates are above 30%
of the total. The highest ratio of pretrial detainees is in Bangladesh with
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2021 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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