Open prisons in India

An open prison, also called minimum-security prison, open camp, or prison without bars, is a prison which is open in four respects: (i) Open to prisoners, i.e., inmates can go to market at sweet will during the day but have to come back in the evening (ii) Open in security, i.e., there is absence of precautions against escape, such as walls, bars, locks and armed guards (iii) Open in organisation, i.e., working is based on inmates! sense of self-responsibility, self-discipline, and self-confidence and (iv) Open to public, i.e., people can visit the prison and meet prisoners. "t is the kind of authority and the nature of management, transferred to the inmates and the degree of freedom from physical restraints (to escape), that should be the real measure of openness of an open prison. #he main ob$ectives of establishing open prisons are: to reduce overcrowding in $ails, to reward good behaviour, to give training in self-reliance, to provide dependable permanent labour for public works, to prevent frustrations and create hope among long-termers, to provide training in agriculture and industry, to e%amine the suitability of releasing offenders from prisons, and to enable prisoners to live with their family members (in some states).

#he first open prison was established in &wit'erland in ()*(, in the +nited &tates in (*(,, in -ritain in (*./, and in the 0etherlands in (*1/. -y (*21, there were (. open prisons in 3ngland, 41 in the +nited &tates, four each in &ri 5anka and the Australia, three in 6ong 7ong, two each in 0ew 8ealand, 9hina, :apan, ;alaysia, <akistan, <hilippines and #hailand, and 4. in "ndia (=hosh, (**4: *-(/). "n "ndia, the first open prison was started in (*/1 in -ombay <residency. #he prisoners were selected from the special class prisoners of #hane 9entral :ail, -ombay. 6owever, this open prison was closed in (*(/. #he state of +ttar <radesh established the first open prison camp in (*1. for the construction of a dam over 9handraprabha >iver near -enaras (now ?aranasi). After completing this darn, the prisoners of the @<en camp were shifted to a nearby place of constructing the dam over 7aramnasa >iver. #he third camp was organised at &hahbad for digging a canal. 3ncouraged by the success of these temporary camps, a permanent camp was started on ;arch (1, (*1, at ;ir'apur with a view to employing prisoners on the work of Auarrying stones for +ttar <radesh government cement factory at 9hurk, ;ir'apur. #he initial strength of prisoners in this camp was (1/ which went up to (,2// but has now come down to )//. Another permanent camp-called &ampurnanad &hivirwas established in (*,/ at &itargan$ in 0ainital district in +ttar <radesh.

At the time of its establishment, &ampurnanand camp had 1,*,1 acres of land but later on 4,/// acres of reclaimed land were handed over to the +ttar <radesh government for the rehabilitation of displaced persons. At present, thus, the &itargan$ camp has .,).2 acres of land and is one of the largest open prisons in the world. <risoners selected for the camp from different $ails of the state are transferred to district $ail, -areilly, from where they are shifted to the camp. #he camp staff at present consists of one superintendent, five $ailors, (4 deputy $ailors, (, assistant $ailors, three assistant medical officers, si% pharmacists, (4, warders and accountants, etc. #he camp has capacity to accommodate (,/// prisoners. 6owever, on an average about ,1/ prisoners live in the camp during the year. +ttar <radesh was followed by many other states in establishing $ open prisons. "n (**,, there were 4B open prisons (e%cluding semi-open camps) found in (4 states in "ndia. Of these, three prisons are located in ;aharashtra Ceravada ((*11), <aithan ((*,)) and 9handrapur ((*24), three in >a$asthan Durgapur ((*11), &anganer ((*,.), and &uratgarh ((*,B), two in 7arnataka &anmdathi ((*,)) and 7oramangala ((*2(), two in +ttar <radesh ;ir'apur ((*1,) and &itargan$ ("*,/), two in #amil 0adu &inganallar ((*1,) and &alem ((*,,), two in =u$arat Amreli ((*,)) and Ahmadabad ((*24), two in Andhra <radesh 6yderabad ((*1B) and Anantapur ((*11), two in -ihar, two in <un$ab, one in 7erala 0ettukeltheri ((*,4), one in Assam Eorhat ((*,B), and one in 6imachal <radesh -ilaspur ("*,/).

#he area of open prisons in different states varies from (/ to 1/ acres e%cept in Andhra <radesh (which has (,B42 acres), and &itargan$ camp, 0ainital, +ttar <radesh (which has .,).2 acres). #he open prisons, usually located on the outskirts of a town fall within five kilometers of the nearest town, e%cept in 7erala and +ttar <radesh where they are situated (1 to .1 kilometres from the nearest towns. #he capacity of prisons varies from less than (// to (,/// prisoners. #he nature of accommodation also differs from place to place. Assam, 7erala, and 6imachal <radesh prisons have permanent barracks ;ysore prison has pre-fabricated structure, and Andhra <radesh and ;aharashtra prisons provide dormitories with asbestos roofs. &ome of these prisons provide work only in agriculture, some in industries, and some both in agriculture and industries. Eligibility conditions for admission to open prisons vary from state to state. #he main conditions are: (() <risoners should be willing to abide by the rules of open prisons (4) #hey should be physically and mentally fit to work (.) #hey should have been sentenced for terms of one year or more and must have spent at least one-fourth of the total term of imprisonment in $ail (B) #hey should have record of good behaviour in

prisons (1) #hey should not be below 4( years or above 1/ years as prescribed by the state (,) #hey should not have been convicted for certain types of crimes (like dacoity, forgery, counterfeiting, etc.) (2) #hey should not have any case pending in the courts ()) #hey should not be habitual offenders and (*) they should not be class " (one) prisoners or women prisoners. #he procedure for selection of prisoners for open prisons is simple. #he superintendents of prisons prepare lists of prisoners to be sent to open prisons on the basis of the eligibility conditions (as described above). #hese lists are sent to the selection committees which e%amine each case-history and make the final selection. About ,/ per cent of prisoners in open prisons are those who have been sentenced for more than (/ years, while about )1 per cent are those who have been imprisoned for more than 1 years. #he average stay in the prison varies from two to three years. #he wage system also varies from prison to prison. "t may thus be maintained that open prisons differ from the ordinary prisons in four respects: in structure (affecting organisation and administration), in role systems (affecting work and interaction in everyday life), in normative systems (affecting social restrictions and

e%pectations guiding behaviour), and in value orientations (affecting conduct and training). Fhile inmate system in ordinary $ails is dominated by a set of values and norms which are largely anti-social and anti- administration, the inmate system in open prisons is pro-administration. Open prisons are characterised more by consensus among inmates. =hosh ((**.) studied 4// prisoners from two open prisons (&itargan$ and ;ir'apur) in +ttar <radesh in (**( for analysing attitudes, <ersonality traits, and ref#nation of prisoners in open $ails. Gor a comparative study (control group), she select 4// prisoners from two central $ails of -anaras (?aranasi) and -areilly in the same slate. &he focused on two aspects: personality variables and ad$ustment level. "n <ersonality variables, she studied three aspects: (a) self-esteem, (b) =uilt-feeling, an%iety and insecurity, and (c) e%troversion, neuroticism, and psychotism. &he found that: i. ;ore prisoners in open prisons indicate a high level of ad$ustment to personal problems as well as to coinmates and the staff than those in closed prisons. #he high ad$ustment is the result of better facilities and free environment. ii. "nmates in open prisons e%hibit more positive selfesteem and positive attitude towards co-inmates than those in closed prisons. iii. An%iety, insecurity and guilt-feelings are found more

among the inmates of closed $ails than open camps. iv. Attitude towards authorities is more cooperative among prisoners in open camps than those in closed $ails. v. <sychoheism, neuroticism and e%troversion among convicts are found to be much less in open prisons than in closed prisons. vi. "nmates of open prisons show more positive attitude towards society than those in closed prisons. #hese findings thus point out the positive use of open prisons in the reformation and rehabilitation of criminals. "t may, however, be noted that open prisons need to be restructured and reorganised. Fhat really needed is: (. 3stablishing open prisons in all those states where they do not e%ist at present. 4. Graming common rules of eligibility for admission and providing facilities for offenders in open prisons in all states. .. 5aying down common rules of remission for inmates. Gor instance, a prisoner in &itargan$ camp, 0ainital (+ttrakhand) and &anganer prison, :aipur (>a$asthan) earns remission at the rate of one day for one day stay. "n addition, he is entitled to fifteen days! remission for good conduct every year. -esides, the superintendent and "nspector =eneral of <risons are also empowered to grant special remission. #he prisoners are also

permitted to keep their families with them, if they so desire. B. 9hecking biases, pressures and corruption in preparing lists of prisoners to be sent to open prisons by superintendents. 1. Assigning powers to the courts for sending certain types of offenders directly to open prisons.