Majority of Baisu inmates are drug addicts, says jail boss

THREE quarters of the 600 prisoners in Baisu jail, Western Highlands, committed crimes under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs.
Jail commander Supt Simon Sobaim revealed this yesterday during the alcohol abuse highlands regional symposium in Mt Hagen.
Sobaim said a majority of the prisoners committed serious crimes like murder, rape, grieveous bodily harm, break and enter or involved in fatal road accidents, that resulted in the loss of lives, were drug addicts or were under the influence of alcohol.
He said drug addicts were hard to rehabilitate in the prison because they did not have the specialist trained officers.
He said Baisu was a regional jail that catered for prisoners from highlands provinces, including Hela and Jiwaka, and it was sad that it did not have a rehabilitation programme for addicts.
Sobaim said to reduce the risk of prisoners staying out of trouble, the community and church leaders must educate people about the dangers of marijuana and encourage them to drink responsibly.
Provincial police commander Supt Kaiglo Ambane told participants that drug and alcohol related crimes had risen in the province.
Ambane called on the courts to impose high penalties on offenders committed crimes under the influence of marijuana or alcohol.
He said that when the court impose tougher penalties to deter others from engaging in criminal activities.
He also challenged parents to educate their children to become law abiding citizens.
Ambane pointed out that one way of minimising drug and alcohol related problem was to encourage youths to play sports and introduce religion classes in schools.
He said that given the growing population, the police manpower is not enough to contain all the law and order problems in the province.
He said the community must be responsible and assist police to maintain order.