Dept to review ops plan

CORRECTIONAL Services (CS) will have a plan to address limited resources and management issues in the department because it owes more than K36 million to service providers, Commissioner Stephen Pokanis says.
He said his department would review and present the strategic and industrial plan 2019-2022 at the end of this week to work with the limited resources available.
“The department is down financially so we have to re-arrange and prioritise the limited resources we have,” Pokanis said.
He said the institution’s budget had been cut by K35 million for next year compared with this year.
Their budget was K134 million for next year compared with K169 million this year.
Pokanis said areas that Correctional Services needed to improve on were parole, cutting down loans and expenditures, avoiding prison breakouts, having leave rosters, ensuring officers understood the CS Act and involving everyone in decision-making from the top management to the officers on the ground.
“There is improvement in parole services in some provinces when the Correctional and Probation services worked together,” he said.
“Some officers are faithful while others are struggling.”
CS deputy commissioner operations David Suagu said station commanders should improve and be consistent in reporting their officers’ performances.
He said to look after a prisoner sentenced for life would cost the Government up to K400,000, so they should not let the prisoner escape.
“You don’t have to let a prisoner escape and say it’s the police work,” Suagu said. “Our focus now is on detainee management.”
He said it was not a good story when about 40 prisoners were captured out of 70 escapees.