PROJECT ONANALYZING THE OPEN PRISON SYSTEM: DEFINITION, ORIGIN, INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE & ADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM . BBC.uk/life-in-prison/arriving-at-prison. "Why life in an open prison is no holiday camp". Prisoners may be permitted to take up employment while serving their sentence. Though the concept has been in existence for quite some time. P.4 1 Stutsman. Thus the governments pursuing the same objective have come up with a concept of ‘Open Jails’.O. And thus he should be given a second chance to a better living and an opportunity to build a life of honour and respect. And the concepts of parole (correctional device for reformation) and probation (rehabilitation of offenders in the community) are recommended as the best measures to reclaim offenders to the society as reformed persons. The Guardian. The study of criminology describes various theories of punishments and the most useful in this regard is the ‘Reformative Theory’. The idea of an open prison is often criticised by members of the public and politicians. but it is still developing and introducing new junctures to a better life of prisoners. Also with time.gov. 13 January 2011. –The prison staff in the Annals of American Academy of political and social science. such as going to an outside job.3 However. Visited on 14/09/16 at 0725h 3 Philip Davies. as discussed under the reformative approach where in the reformation of offenders to law abiding members of society. 1931. In the UK. Visited on 14/9/2016 at 0728h . "It is completely ludicrous that a serving life-sentence prisoner is even in an open prison". and the development in the criminological thinking there is a new scope for a fresh approach.1 DEFINITION An open prison (open jail) is an informal description applied to any penal establishment in which the prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are not locked up in prison cells.2 They may be designated "training prisons" and are only for prisoners considered a low risk to the public.68 2 https://www. prisoners do not have complete freedom and are only allowed to leave the premises for specific purposes.BACKGROUND Every person who commits a crime is deemed to punishment but this does not mean that he needs to repay it with his life. open prisons are often part of a rehabilitation plan for prisoners moved from closed prisons. J. 05 May 2014 4 Erwin James. improve vocational skills and add to his information meaningful knowledge about the world and the society to which he belongs. the offender continues as a member of the correctional community so that he can develop within him the spirit of energetic. With time the system started to develop and advanced towards new horizons. as an emerging concept of a semiopen prison institution came into view. If the prisoners are given certain freedoms and liberty.K. The feedback followed appreciating the same.K. In the course of open peno-institutional treatment. The basic assumptions supporting the theory were : A person is sent to prison as a punishment and not for punishment. Some prison camps were also organized in Massachusetts and California around 1915. the member Secretary of the Prison Commission of U. OPEN PRISONS IN THE EARLY 1900S During the 19th century America had open air prisons in which the prisoners who were near to finishing of their sentence would be transferred as laborers. under supervision and close watch of guards. And he must be extended every opportunity to raise his educational level.MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF PRISONS U. they would respond favorably and would not betray the confidence displayed on them. And the closing of the 19th century witnessed the beginning of a new phase. procedure or system of correction should deprive any offender of the hope and possibility of his ultimate return to the society as a responsible citizen. resourceful and organized citizen participation. The first ever prison of this kind was established in Switzerland by the name of Witzwill.1919 P.5 No law. in the 1930’s and the United States around the 1940’s first established the system of open jails. 31 . made outstanding contribution to the development of the system. All the employable offenders should have a right to an opportunity of being engaged in productive work.6 5 the Declaration of Principles of the American Correctional Association (1960) 6 Report of the All India Jail Manual Committee. finally in 1938 a new Prison Board was proposed supporting the objective. And Sir Alexander Palerson. And a farm type institution with suitable facilities for work was proposed near the town of Chino in South California. However the idea of minimum security did not settle with the existing Prison Board. under the guidance of State Board of Prison Directors. And the treatment of offenders in open conditions similar to outside world as far as possible. The subject of these open-institutions was largely discussed in the First United Nation Congress on Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders held in Geneva in 1955. This has helped a lot in formulating interest among professional men in the adoption of new ideas and experiments in the field of prison reforms. however the results did not prove successful for long. Manu emphasized on reformation of the offender rather than punishing him indiscriminately. NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE In ancient India. The recommendation was accepted and has since been in practice though with some changes as thought fit. With the appointment of the First All India jail committee in 1836. as imprisonment had a drastic effect on some offenders who instead of becoming useful citizens become tough and frustrated criminals with rather enhanced competence for crime. He was of the view that unjust and harsh punishments make offenders more dangerous to society and also bring disrepute to law administrators. It was later followed by the appointment of the Second Jail Committee. Thus he strongly pleaded that an effective and efficient scheme of after-care be introduced to help bring about the rehabilitation of even the most dangerous and hardened criminals. And by the time the Second meeting was held in London in 1960. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA The development of the open prison system in India can be traced back in the 1830s. As a result the concept of open-prisons as a part of after-care device had been accepted at the International level. found wide acceptance in several countries. the open-institution had set its roots in the Anglo-American prison system for the correctional treatment of offenders. Thus open and semi-open prisons. to review the prison administration of the country. and then it was in 1877 that the question of employing prisoners on the major work sites was put forth in the Prison Conference of the year. This has proved to be a great contribution to the development of progressive penology and a professional approach to treatment of offenders at the International plane. . work release and other semi-institutional methods of treatment have proved far more useful for such offenders.INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE With time it was observed that prisonisation may only be appropriate for a certain category of offenders. N. This committee worked hard for over three years and made appreciative recommendations for prison reforms. Technical Expert who visited India in 1952.897. The appointment of an All India Jail Committee 1956-57 was the result. Engaging the inmates of open air prisons in productive work keeps them mentally and physically fit. Based on the twin concepts of parole (most acceptable form of correctional device. It would not be wrong to say that though the concept of employment of prisoners is an old concept but the main objectives of such employment have vastly changed in the sense. It was realized that the inmates (offenders) shall be given proper opportunities to associate and communicate freely with the society and the gap between the outside and the inside world should be cut down as far as possible. Help in conservation of natural resources and widens the scope of rehabilitative process. The first commendable effort was made by Sir Walter Reckless. Open opportunities for self-development and resocialization. universally recognized as one of the most appropriate methods of reformation and rehabilitation of offenders) and probation (rehabilitation of offenders in the community) this theory of open prisons has gained popularity and acceptance as one of the best correctional techniques of reformation in modern penology. They help in reducing overcrowding in jails. Operational cost is far lesser than that of the enclosed prisons. One of these recommendations was the establishment of open jails and the main emphasis was on self-discipline and self-help7. ADVANTAGES OF OPEN PRISON SYSTEM In the open prison system the selected offenders are placed under open air camps. Construction cost is fairly reduced. 7 Report of the All India Jail Manual Committee. “New Horizons in Criminology”. P. a number of committees were appointed by the provincial governments for further reviews of prison administration but nothing could actually be done in the direction until post-independence. farm colonies or other outside work with a reasonable degree of safety.During 1920-27. the U. The post independence periods witnessed some significant changes in the policies and techniques of prison administration. And the obvious advantages of such system are. 31 8 Quoted in Barnes and Teeters. . whereas today it is set at providing them with useful and meaningful work under helpful conditions aiming at restoring their self-respect and self-confidence. 8 Earlier it was meant to take hard work from prisoners in conditions inhuman and humiliating.1919 P. Some of them are as follows. An open-air prison at Yarvada. people are free to visit the prison and meet the prisoners.NATURE OF OPEN PRISONS: Some aspects describing the nature of open prison institutions in detail. such as. and special lectures are held within the prisons for the educational development of the inmates. Rajasthan (1955)Shri Sampurnanand Bandi Shivir at Sanganer. Jaipur (1963) {The state of Rajasthan has the highest number of open jails i. And so started the phase of change and development as various states followed the suit by establishing open-prison institutions for the inmates. Maharashtra (1955) Open Air Jail at Soundatti. Gujarat (1968) Open Prison at Nettvketheri.in visited on 14/09/2016 at 1819hrs . It is open to prisoners. ten operating within the state} In these jails there are no restrictions on the prisoners in respect of reading materials and are allowed to access material for the purpose of self nurturing and development of person. these is absence of bars. as they can go to work at any place as they wish during the day but have to come back in the evening. and It is open to public.nic. It is open to organization. working is based on the inmate’s sense of responsibility. 9 http://tiharprisons. They are also allowed to pursue studies through open universities. Tamil Nadu (1956) Prisoner’s Open Air Camp at Agricultural Research Farm at Durgapur. Kerela (1962) Open Air Agricultural Prison at Nabha. self-discipline and self confidence.e. walls and armed guards.9 NATIONAL SITUATION In India the first ever open air camp was set up attached to the Model Prison at Lucknow in 1949. Punjab (1970) Open Air Prison at Singanallur. It is open to security. Mysore (1968) Open Prison at Amreli. locks. Which was soon followed by the ‘Mauli Ali Agricultural Colony’ for Convicts in 1954. some of them being that. They are also provided daily newspaper. As a result of which. the basic fact that they are notorious and formidable criminals be neglected?’ or ‘Is it proper that one in order to avoid the “trouble” and “problems” with offenders merely transfers them. In this programme prisoners are free to pursue their studies and enrol in different graduation and post-graduation programmes.A. post graduate diploma in business administration from 2005 to 2007 with a total of Rs. Perhaps the reason was that there had been no significant addition to the existing jails after 1980. And the idea of special jails for women did not get much support either. the Jail Reforms Committee suggested two kinds of open prisons.93. Also the Bangalore University has started a programme supporting this noble cause. 1. M. ‘Is it rightful that in an anxiety for reformation of prisoners. ‘does the negligence of the prison officials not defeat the very purpose of open prisons?’ Thus the need of review of the functioning of the existing open prisons was felt.00 paid towards the fees. And 59 prisoners were enrolled for courses in higher education such as B.A report has showed that by 1993-2000 a total of 149 prisoners were enrolled in various courses through IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University) at the cost of the government. strength and past status?’. CONCLUSION . they propose to impart formal education to prisoners in distance mode. CRITICAL APPRECIATION The open jail institutions proved to be quite useful and showed much positive results in the first two decades of their establishment in India. Many questions can forward regarding the system its problems. magazines in all the regional languages so as to link their minds with the outside world and society.A. but overall possibility of prisoner’s propensity to reform and resocialisation. their rights and responsibilities to a ‘criminal chief’ who commands over his fellow-inmates on the basis of his power. periodicals. open and semi-open jails and the criterion for segregation of prisoners should not be on the basis of their term of sentence.055. But unlike the system functioning in other nations the system in India started to face sharp declines after a period of time. However despite all the shortcomings and criticisms for the working of open prisons. There is no doubt as to the thought that ‘help’ and ‘hate’ should be the guiding principles underlying the modern prison administration. . it is an accepted fact that this system has become an important part of the present day prison system. And the service it has provided to the nation over the time is not only significant but appreciable.