Prisons chief says overcrowding issue needs solution within 3-4 years

Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya says that Sri Lanka’s prisons are currently operating at around 173% capacity and that the issue of prisons overcrowding needs to be solved within the next 3-4 years.

“The congestion in prisons is very high. Because currently they are operating at 173% capacity, when you consider all the prisons across the island.”  

“However, the prisons in and around Colombo and other major cities area operating at around 400% capacity,” he said speaking to Ada Derana ‘Big Focus’.

He stated that the biggest challenge they are facing is the inmates who are in remand custody, a figure which he said is now nearing 18,000 island-wide. 

Therefore the space and facilities of prisons need to be increased at least within the next 3-4 years or else it will be difficult to sustain, the Commissioner General said.  

He said it is also unjust from the inmate’s perspective and they are also humans who have a right to live within the prison with the basic facilities.

The Commissioner General of Prisons also urged people visiting prisons to refrain from bringing in any contraband such as illegal drugs because it hampers their efforts to rehabilitate the prisoners and prevent further burden on society.

He also requested visitors to inform them if any inmate or another person has asked them to bring anything unnecessary.

Upuldeniya said that certain inmates pester their parents to bring drugs saying they cannot live inside the prison and that some parents oblige to these demands.