Report condemns prison system

PROLONGED maladministration of the Correctional Services led directly to the breakdown of systems and processes including command and control which led to the escape of William Nanua Kapris and hundreds of others in the country, a confidential government report reveals.
“Long standing management and administrative issues have created a situation where the rank and file are overworked, underpaid, frustrated, demoralised and security protocols and procedures are managed at a bare minimum,” the report into the escape by Kapris and 11 others on Jan 12, 2010 reveals.
At the time, Kapris walked out with 11 others from Bomana’s  Separate Confinement Unit, there were over 200 escaped prisoners at large from jails throughout the country.
The systems and processes are in point of fact “at the point of disintegration”.
“This has given rise to an unfortunate situation where the prison system is vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation by hostile elements, including by organised criminal syndicates,” it states.
The only authorities who can visit the SCU facility unannounced are judges or magistrates on one of their official inspections mandated under the CS Act.
Anyone else including police and government agents wishing to visit inmates have to go through the Bomana Jail Commander.
Relatives have to write to the CS Commissioner to obtain permission to visit.
If approved only the jail commander can issue a visitor’s pass. The visitor is to be escorted to the duty officer who can then allow the visitor access, the report says.
None of these practices have been followed consistently and did not apply at all when Kapris walked out of the SCU.
There is an outer boom date and a guard house and this is repeated inside.
Both were unmanned at the time of the Kapris escape.
There are no security check points between the main boom gate and the SCU which is supposed to be a maximum security facility.
The lapse in security and warders in the pay of criminals appear to date back further than 2010 as the case history of Kapris indicates.
Kapris was transferred from Kimbe in 2005 as a high- risk prisoner after he was arrested for the shooting of a policeman.
He was a remandee at Bomana when he escaped on Dec 23, 2007. That escape appeared to be assisted.
He was approved leave of absence to be driven to Maloro Supermarket to meet family and friends to secure funds for a Christmas party when he escaped. The officer driving him then was suspended but three months later was reinstated on a promotion.
Kapris was recaptured after the Mineral Refinery Office robbery and escaped a second time on Feb 9, 2009 also with the assistance, so the report states, of CS officers. He was recaptured soon after.
A search of Kapris’ cell block in March 2009 revealed a mobile phone and other contraband items.
More recently it was revealed he was having sexual affairs with a married female warder while another warder was standing guard.