Bougainville lacks prison

THE chief of Bougainville police, deputy commissioner Francis Tokura, is concerned that they do not have a proper prison.
He voiced his worry last week in Buka during the opening of a week-long custodian management training at the Hutjena police station.
At the moment Bougainville police has a rehabilitation centre at Bekut which houses a maximum of 50 prisoners. It is now overcrowded.
Tokura said he was working with the Justice Services and Stability for Development Programme (JSS4D) for refurbishment of holding cells in Buka, Arawa and Buin to accommodate more than the holding capacity of 12 prisoners. He said a substantial amount of money would be spent to bring the cells up to a respectable level.
“With the assistance of JSS4D, there’s a lot of work being done to bring the cells to some standard so that we can hold as many as we can,” he said.
Tokura said is calling on the national and Bougainville governments to assist build a major prison.