Detainees transferred to address overcrowding

THE transferring of detainees from Buimo Correctional Institution in Lae to prisons in other provinces is part of an initiative to address overcrowding at the prison.
Correctional Services Commissioner Stephen Pokanis said Buimo currently had over 1,000 inmates and the aim was to reduce this number to below 800.
He said overcrowding was an issue at Buimo and the CS had made adjustments to reduce the population numbers during the Covid-19 period by transferring detainees to jails in the Highlands.
“I am now looking at getting some low-risk prisoners transferred to Biru prison in Northern so that they can assist with the oil palm and cocoa projects at the institution there.”
Pokanis said with the Covid-19 protocols still in place, the CS were looking to set up an isolation facility to quarantine detainees.
He said the facility needed to be established immediately so new detainees could be quarantined for 14 days, assessed and once certified as Covid-19 free, be moved to Buimo prison.
Pokanis said this while commenting on the initiative taken by the Lae City Authority (LCA) to work in partnership with Buimo CS under the prisoner rehabilitation programme.
He said the LCA and CS had a memorandum of agreement to allow low-risk convicts to do community services in Lae.
He said the programme was an initiative of Lae MP John Rosso and the LCA in partnership with Buimo prison.