Prisoners’ concerns genuine, they need help

THE concerns raised by prisoners at Lakiemata jail in West New Britain and on behalf of other prisoners serving sentences in other jails are genuine and the Parole Board should stop paying lip service and do some real work.
All prisoners are eligible for consideration for parole once they are convicted and locked up in jail.
The Justice Department must ensure that there are enough parole officers throughout the country to compile parole reports and at the same time provide proper supervision on the ground.
The proposed review of the Parole Act was talked about for over 10 years and nothing has been done to date.
The Secretary for Justice and the inept Chief Probation Officer should be held accountable for the prolonged and unnecessary delay.
The White Paper Policy on Law & Justice had recommended for a retired judge or magistrate to be appointed to chair the Parole Board.
This recommendation including other related policy matters and the genuine concerns raised by prisoners can be captured in the review.
However, this is yet to be realised and the prisoners will continue to be denied this service and only voice concerns through their leaders.
At present, the Secretary for Justice is chair of the Parole Board. For reasons only known to him, he has chosen not to implement the recommendations outlined in the White Paper Policy on Law & Justice.
If the review is undertaken it would greatly assist in the smooth operation of the administration of the parole system and ease the burden of overcrowding in most prisons throughout the country.

Les Pinis, Via email