Fadli, Batam – Batam's new Barelang Penitentiary has only been open two months, but it is already overcrowded. Three times the official capacity of 383 inmates squeeze into the cells of the prison.
Overcrowding at Barelang – an abbreviation of Batam, Rempang and Galang – has been blamed on rising crime and poor implementation of parole and programs to integrate former convicts into the community.
The new prison was built to replace the old 176 inmate facility in the Baloi region. Built with Rp 40 billion (US$4.2 million) in funding from the state budget, the new prison has become cramped home to 1,295 people.
With only 42 rooms available, each room, measuring 80 square meters, has to accommodate 30 people. The rooms are designed for an ideal capacity of five.
The head of Barelang prison's registration section, Wiwid Ferianto, said that despite the overcrowding, conditions in Barelang were better than in the former prison, which was operating at 10 times its capacity.
Wiwid said prison authorities usually moved inmates to other prisons around Batam, including those in Tanjung Balai Karimun, Tanjung Pinang and Tembilahan.
However, he said the transfers were not enough to solve the problem, since the other prisons also faced their own problems with overcrowding.
One female prisoner, 25-year-old Amey, said she had little space to move in her cell. "When I'm in a corner, it's a bit difficult to move to the center due to the crowded conditions. But we do have running water here, so we can easily wash our faces," Amey told The Jakarta Post at the prison's canteen.
According to Wiwid, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights planned to renovate the old Baloi prison and turn it into a holding facility for police suspects.
He blamed the growing number of inmates in Barelang penitentiary in part on the rising crime rate in Batam. Batam Municipal Council member Yudi Kurnain said he was taken aback at how quickly the prison had become overcrowded.
"The problem won't be solved by a solution of extending the prison. Prison authorities should be transparent toward prisoners' rights on remission, parole and integration (into the community)," Yudi said.
Yudi said he would urge prison authorities to release reformed prisoners early in order to relieve the overcapacity problem.
"But, if prison authorities are unwilling to grant inmates their rights or demand huge payments from them, prisons will always be crowded. Even if the whole island of Batam were to be turned into a prison, it would always be packed because the prison guards prefer it that way," Yudi said.