Charter launched to lift services for inmates

Islands

By JACKLYN SIRIAS
Correctional Services has launched a new service delivery platform for inmates at Beikut and Buka police cells in Bougainville.
New Guinea Islands regional commander Assistant Commissioner Philip Eka said the launching of the prison service charter (PSC) last Thursday was basically a service delivery platform.
“It is basically a service delivery platform by the Correctional Services as well as the community partners and stakeholders like courts, police, public prosecutor, public solicitor and Ombudsman Commission and the government of the  Autonomous Region of Bougainville,” he said.
“The platform will make our job more accountable, we become answerable to our stakeholders, our communities and the people that we serve especially the prisoners.”
He said Correctional Services was not on its own.
“We’ve been observed by people, and the prisoners that we serve. Prisoners want to be given an equal opportunity like any other free person so human rights will be one of the issues that we will be addressing through the PSC.”
Eka said prisons were established institutions that looked after the wellbeing of prisoners so it had to be their responsibility to serve them.
“So with the PSC platform, prisoners, staff and even visitors can raise complaints and views directly to the commissioner and not to the commanding officers,” Eka said.
He said there would be three different boxes put in the prisons for the prisoners, the staff and the visitors to drop in their views or suggestions.
“Three complaint boxes will be posted in the prison; one for the prisoners, one for the staff, and one for the public. Whoever has a complaint or suggestion, put it inside the box, and they don’t need to write their names.
“An independent body opens the boxes and delivers those complaints to the commissioner directly and the commissioner will then look at them and whatever actions he would like to take he would take from the commissioner’s office.
“So, there is protection of that information. It doesn’t go to the hands of the commanding officer.”