Meeting the Challenges Posed by High Risk Offenders

Transcription

1 Meeting the Challenges Posed by High Risk Offenders

2 Types of High Risk Offenders High Risk offenders can be classified into four categories. These include the most violent, disruptive hardened criminals e.g.:- serial killers, assassins, murderers, drug addicts, drug peddlers, kidnappers, dacoits, robbers, members of organized crime syndicate and psychopaths. Members of extremist/terrorist group.

3 Prisoners awarded death sentence is another special category. Mohammed Ajmal Amir Mujahid a very high risk terrorist in Yerwada Central Prison. State spent about Rs 6.7 crores in keeping him in a specially protected cell. Foreigner prisoners also constitute another group of high risk offender.

4 Fact file of high risk offenders Out of 1394 jails of India about 300 jails including all the Central jails, dozens of District jails, Sub jails, Special jails and Women jails have lodged High Risk Offenders. They constitute about less than seven percent of total jail populations. These elements are very violent and dangerous. They have committed dozens of murders, kidnapping and even killing of police and paramilitary forces. Some of the high risk offenders have also committed sensational escape from police custody and jail breaks. In 2012 these high risk offenders had committed 18 jail breaks ; 123 prisoners escaped from different prisons of the country.

5 Prisoners escaped from the damaged high security special jail of Bhuj after earthquake.

6 Foiled Jail Break of Ahemadabad

7 Threat posed by High Risk Offenders High risk offenders pose variety of threats to prison management. These include jail break, prison violence, escape from police custody during court appearance, prison gangsterism and suicide of any inmates. The terrorists/extremists pose severe threat to prison security. Terror/extremists crimes are increasing throughout world, so also the number of prisoners convicted under terror/ extremists crimes and also the under trial prisoners.

8 Triple threat by extremists/terrorists Extremists/terrorists pose peculiar triple dangers to the jails (1) inmate radicalization, (2) serious attack by armed extremists and (3) false propaganda against prison management. Prisoners belonging to extremists groups are in the habit of making false, tendentious complaints about human rights violations of prisoners to harass prison authorities and to thwart the strictness in checking these prisoners. The extremist prisoners have double strategy; (1) false propaganda of human right violations in jail, (2) exploit the slackness of security and conduct jail break.

9 Inmate radicalization is a concern for correctional service. The extremist prisoners try to radicalize other inmates. There is possibility of developing collusion between underworld and underground activists. In last one decade, these extremists had conducted four major breaks. jail

10 Jehanabad Jail Break

11 Prison gangsterism Prison gangs disrupt good prison management, threatens the security of jail. The prison gang in collusion with some corrupt prison officials try to control the prison environment through intimidation. Sometimes few high risk offenders form small prison gangs, harass new entrants to jail.in some incidents the hardened criminals extort money from the family of new jail entrants by threatening them. In 2012, group clashes 160 occurred in different jails of the country; one inmate was killed, 194 inmates & 8 jail personnel were injured.

12 Important crimes perpetrated by jail inmates On an alleged terrorist was murdered by a gang leader of Pune organised crime syndicate, within the high security cell of Yerwada Central Prison Pune. The offender and his associate strangulated and murdered with a night suit tape. In Jammu jail one foreigner was killed by the carpenter s tools.

13 International organised crime syndicate member- Abu Salem was shot at with a country made pistol. Salem was injured on his right hand. Prison staff on duty, rushed to the spot and overpowered the offender. On evening, Prison officer BN Kachare was fired upon with a pistol in New Mumbai.

14 In the past Fundamentalist Prisoners lobed grenades on the Prisons Office of Deputy Inspector General of Coimbatore. In the past killing of Jailors and Warders by the prisoners in riots at Central Prisons have also occurred.

15 Drug Menace Drug addicts are a great menace to the prison management and also constitute threat to the security of the jail. Some of the drug addicts develop suicidal tendency; prisoners with suicidal tendency is a serious threat to good prison management. In the evening the drug addicts boisterous lunatic behavior disturbs the prison environment and poses security threat. De-addiction Programme helps.

16 Measures to manage high risk offenders A number of actions are taken to minimize the opportunities for the high risk offenders to cause trouble throughout the prison. Prison authorities use a wide variety of privileges which can be given and then taken back for misdemeanors.

17 Continuous training of staff to handle serious offenders with observation skills, unarmed combat skill, weapon handling skill, understanding signals and codes of criminals and commando training is helpful. The wearing of insignias by offenders who have escaped previously can help in identifying and keeping continuous surveillance on them.

18 Correctional Intelligence Some of the well intended jail inmates are used for collection of correctional intelligence which is essential for improving prison management. Tech-int through CCTV, Surveillance, phone tapping can yield good intelligence.

19 Prison management through continuous supervision and monitoring can ensure no gangsterism within jail. Strong action against corrupt and delinquent jail officials helps in improving environment within the jails. The offenders who cause trouble need to be isolated and in extreme cases with the orders of court they can be even handcuffed. Yoga can help to reduce stress level of these offenders. Periodic interaction with family also helps in imbibing good sense among these offenders.

20 Action to counter inmate radicalization Inmate radicalization is a great concern for correctional services. Continuous supervision and monitoring is answer to this problem. Detection, deterrence and disruption of radicalization of prisoners are the main task of jail authorities to handle the menace and clout of extremists within the jail.

21 Layers of security & security audit Layers of security must be provided at the jails where extremists are lodged. The best security is all round, dynamic security with multi layers security system. It consists of concrete sector wall, perimeter wall; concertina fencing, solar powered electric fencing with sensors, CCTV surveillance, and proper sentry posts with armed police guard. Infrastructures can be properly designed to provide extra security.

22 Adequate armed escorts ensure security of high risk offenders on transit. The prisons as well as some of the threatened prison officials should be provided police security. In the past the extremists had ingenuously contrived jail break from inside and outside of the jails. Security guards to maintain constant alertness. The guards should have lethal and non-lethal arms to face any eventuality and also they should have drilled instant reactions to face the onslaught of extremists. Periodic security audit by jail authority and police authorities also to rectify errors and lapses in security.

23 Conclusion Managing high risk offenders is a very difficult task for the jail authorities. A number of steps e.g. technological surveillance, correctional intelligence initiative, and segregation of ideologue inmates from common inmates are taken to solve this problem to a greater extent. Monitoring high risk offenders under intensive supervision controls their conspiratorial and criminal behavior and activities to a great extent.

24 These offenders are most likely to be as disruptive inside as they are outside. They are great threat to the public, public order and homeland security. All round efforts must be taken for managing these high risk offenders in jails.

25 Thanks