Jakarta – The Law and Human Rights Ministry is overhauling the country's approach to managing its penitentiaries, after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last week uncovered rampant corruption taking place in a West Java prison housing graft convicts.
"There will be four categories of prisons: super maximum security, maximum security, medium and minimum security," a spokesman for the ministry's Directorate General of Corrections, Ade Kusmanto, said on Tuesday as reported by tempo.co.
The ministry has been hit by a string of scandals relating to its penitentiaries, ranging from prison breaks, drug rings operated from behind bars and prisoners bribing their wardens for better facilities.
The latter was exposed in a recent KPK arrest of the Sukamiskin prison warden and graft convicts in Bandung, West Java, for alleged bribery.
In the discussed new scheme, there will be no more specialized prisons, such as those for graft convicts, Ade said. Convicts will be placed in facilities that are in accordance with their crime, behavior and security threat.
"[Inmates] that are likely to repeat their offenses or harm others will be put in the highest security-level prison," he said.
Inmates showing good behavior will then be moved to a lower-security prison. The assessment, Ade said, would be made by prison staff every day based on indicators that are still in discussion.
In the current system, convicts are housed in various facilities according to their prison sentence.
The new concept aims to encourage good behavior among inmates and prevent prison authorities from abusing their power, Ade added. (nor/rin)