Almost all prisons especially in big cities have been overcapacity."Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - An official from the ministry of justice said the government would build 40 new prisons to accommodate all prisoners.
"Are 19 of them have been operating and the rest is expected to be operational soon," the official who is director of order and security development of the directorate general of penitentiaries, Wibowo Joko Harjono, said here on Thursday.
He said the capacity of prisoners in the country at present is only for 91,000 people but the number of prisoners accommodated there right now reached 126,000.
"Almost all prisons especially in big cities have been overcapacity. So, new prisons are needed," he said.
More than 200 prisoners escaped from Tanjung Gusta prison in Medan, North Sumatra, recently, and 11 others from a prison in Batam.
Overcapacity has been blamed as one of the factors causing the jail breaks.
Joko said with regard to the prison in Batam the government is currently constructing a new prison with a capacity of around 400 people.
(Reporting by Larno/H-YH/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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