Basil calls for drastic steps to improve CS

 DEPUTY opposition leader Sam Basil wants the government to implement drastic improvements to the country’s Correctional Service.

“The Correctional Service is one of the disciplinary forces recognised under the Constitution with the Defence and Police Force, yet we continue to see them in their primary role of containment of prisoners instead of the greater input into the law, order and justice sector,” he said.

Basil said the government knew about the lingering problems that persisted in the Correctional Services and the official investigation report into the escape of notorious criminal William Kapris, which concluded that “the CS is the weakest link in the law, order, justice sector and it breeds criminals inside the jail system and there is high level of collusion by security personnel from Defence, Police and CS with criminals inside and outside that makes CS the biggest threat to the 

country”.

Basil highlighted the recent jail breakouts at Beon in Madang, Buimo in Lae and Barawagi in Chimbu, saying: “It brings the number to 100 but the issue is of the escape, whether five or six prisoners escape, it indicates there is a threat and even the whole prison population can escape based on a weak link created by aging infrastructure or by warders or by circumstances such as warders in church service.

“This is the biggest threat that faces the country and we should not be threatened by criminals and hooligans that are supposed to be secured and contained in the prisons.”