By Rathindra Kuruwita in The Island, Dec 27, 2023
In 2022, the inmates in Sri Lankan prisons numbered 22,097, marking a 15 percent increase from the 19,295 in 2021, a report on prison overcrowding by the National Audit Office states.
The total prison capacity in the country was set at 11,291 inmates by the end of 2022, according to the report. However, the total count reached 26,176 individuals, comprising 16,727 suspects and 9,449 convicts.
Thus, there are 232 percent more inmates in prisons.
The Department of Corrections has four security prisons, 18 remand facilities, two correctional centres for young offenders, 10 work camps, two open work camps, 23 prison cells, and an institution dedicated to prison education, the report said.
Managing the prison system has become increasingly challenging due to the significant issue of overcrowding in prisons today, the report said.
The state spends Rs. 8.3 billion to look after the prisoners, the NAO report has said. About 53 percent of the inmates had been detained for drug-related offences as at 31 December 2022, the report said.
https://island.lk/prisons-overcrowded/
