Prisons in PNG need a radical overhaul

 Dr GARRY SALI

PAPUA New Guinea has been branded by some international observers as a “wild and dangerous country not at war”. 

As a result many foreign investors, technical experts and tourists are just too scared to come here although this country offers many opportunities for business, development and tourism to flourish.

However, we do not deny the fact that the country has a serious law and order problem that requires urgent attention.  

Ironically, while PNG Prime Minster, Peter O’Neill, and Fiji Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama were recently discussing sending Papua New Guineans to train in tourism and hospitality in Fiji, an Australian was murdered and his girlfriend pack-raped outside Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands Province. Some days later, a US academic was gang-raped by armed men on Karkar Island, Madang. 

Such incidents highlight the fact that so long as law and order concerns are high on the domestic and international public discussion agendas, efforts to raise PNG’s international profile as a tourist destination will mean little, if not nothing.

The police, courts and prisons play critical roles in maintaining law, order and peace in the community but the three arms of the justice system continue to grapple with issues of capacity, logistics and professionalism. 

The effectiveness and vitality of the justice system is critically important in the creation of a just,  safe and peaceful society. 

Each element of the system is inseparable. The police, courts and prisons must operate as a single 

unit to achieve their common objective/s.

When guilt is determined in a court of law, the state must make sure that the principles of retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation are served, delivered and maintained. This is done by the prisons. 

Police are the country’s frontline in the fight against crime and the force cannot and will never be ignored in any priorities (resource allocations) from the state. Likewise, the courts are the engine room of the criminal justice system and our commitments and efforts to fight against crime, corruption, and lawlessness in the country depends pretty much on how effective the courts are in terms of its ability to administer the justice system and deliver justice appropriately. 

The functions of the prisons are equally important. 

Unfortunately, the efforts of the police and the courts are often squandered through the numerous prison breakouts and escapes. 

It incredibly depressing that convicted criminals can literally walk out of jail. 

It was reported this month that 44 prisoners escaped Buimo prison in Lae just weeks after 49 prisoners escaped from Madang’s Beon jail. Remember the 2010 breakout by 12 escapees from Bomana prison including the notorious William Kapris?

These escapees are convicted murderers, rapists, robbers and dangerous criminals. 

It is common sense that the state is forced to commit scarce resources into recapturing the escapees. And it may well be that while on the run, the escapees might cause major damage to society. 

This is a national security issue. Prison breakouts must be seriously addressed by the authorities and the government so that they do not happen.

The question many ask is: Why do inmates in PNG prisons frequently breakout? Although this question can be appropriately answered by prison management, the following might be some of the reasons – overcrowding; inhumane and cruel treatment of prisoners; poor and dilapidated prison facilities; improper structural design of prisons; carelessness and negligence on the part of the prison staff on duty and prison administration; and discontent among prison warders over their welfare and wellbeing. 

I had an opportunity to visit Buimo prison in Lae recently and witnessed the appalling and dilapidated facilities there. Lae is the second largest city in the country and as development progresses, so does crime and we need to renovate Buimo jail. 

It is time to act now to develop a robust and innovative prisons system in PNG. The history of penitentiary system informs us that prisons are meant to confine hardcore criminals, killers; rapists; and recidivists. 

This list should also include bank robbers, prison escapees and serious white-collar criminals. 

The possibility of setting up a maximum security prison on an island must be seriously considered.

The current prisons system is meant for the less harmful and less serious offenders. The relaxed and piecemeal approach to hardcore criminals is over.

A tough and radical approach is needed now as far as incarceration is concerned.  

l Dr Garry Sali is currently a visiting fellow with the Resource Management in Asia Pacific Programme; Crawford School of Public Policy; ANU College of Asia and the Pacific and the Australian National University. The views presented here are his own.