Development of Prisons

and Practices in
selected countries

Reporters: Hawac, Frederick

Santiago, Francis Albert
Lanson, Jhun Rey
Peñaranda, Narby Troy
Japan
The Japanese Criminal justice system has five segments and these are:
 Police.
 Prosecution.
 Court.
 Institutional corrections.
 Non-institutional corrections examples of which are probation, parole
and aftercare services.

These five segments of their Criminal Justice System operate in

tandem with each other. Except for the police, which are administered
at the prefectural level, and the courts, which belong to a separate
branch of government, all the other three components are under the
Ministry of Justice of the central government.
 The criminal justice system has basically two flows and
these are adults and juveniles. Under Japanese laws juveniles
are those under twenty years of age. Juvenile cases are
referred to the Family Courts and adjudicated therein except
those juveniles over sixteen years old where their cases are
tried at the Criminal Courts if it is serious.
There are two systems approaches used by Japanese in
corrections. These are the Institutional and the Non-
institutional or community-based.
The Institutional Approach
In all matters pertaining to institutional corrections, the single national
agency that is charged with direct responsibility is the Correction Bureau
under the Ministry of Justice. It is headed by a Director General and under
him are the Regional Corrections Headquarters, Detention Houses, Adult
Prisons, Juvenile Prisons, Juvenile Training Schools, Juvenile
Classification Homes and Women's Guidance Home
The main functions of the Corrections Bureau are:
 1. supervises inmate treatment covering security, industry, education,
medical care and hygiene, etc. with a view to a successful re-
integration of inmates to the mainstream of society upon release;
 2. conducts surveys and research on the treatment methods;
 3. improves institutional facilities, budget and staff; and
 4. advises Training Institute for Correctional Officials regarding trainee
selection and training.
 The Corrections Bureau has six divisions with the following corresponding
functions:
1. General Affairs;
a. General planning;
b. Improvement in personnel, budget and general administration;
c. Drafting of regulations and ordinances related to correctional services;
d. Inspections and surveys of correctional institutions;
e. Training and welfare of correctional personnel;
2. Security;
a. Security, custodial care and discipline of inmates;
b. Admission, accommodation, daily living care, escort and release of inmates;
c. Mustering, conducting ceremony and emergency drill for correctional
personnel;
3. Industry;
a. Planning and operation of prison industry and vocational training of inmates;
b. Remuneration for prison labor and benefits for work-related accidental
death or injury.
4. Medical Care and Classification:
a. Nutrition, hygiene and health of inmates;
b. Classification and release preparation of inmates;
5. Education: and
a. Education and training of inmates
b. Welfare and recreation of inmates
6. Counseling
a. Helping inmates to ably handle their problems.
Inmates who commit infractions or violations of prison rules and
regulations are punished according to the following modes:
1. Reprimand;
2. Suspension of good treatment reward for three months or less;
3. Discontinuance of good treatment reward;
4. Prohibition of reading books for three months or less;
5. If inmate is permitted to work in prison industry, ten days or less
suspension;
6. Suspension from using self-furnished clothing and beddings for
fifteen days or less;
7. Suspension of self-supply of food for fifteen days or less;
8. Suspension of physical exercise for five days or less;
9. Whole or partial deduction of prison labor wages;
10. Reduction of food for ten days or less; and
11. Minor solitary confinement for two months or less.
 Vocational training is one of the major activities
undertaken for the inmate to provide the skills necessary for
the inmate to work and survive upon release. The "Rules for
Vocational Training of Prisoners" passed in 1965 provides for
three types of inmate vocational training. These are:
 General Vocational Training Institute – seven facilities
prison offer this training.
 Concentrated Vocational Institute – thirty prison facilities
offer this training.
 Other various kinds of training which are occasionally
Non-institutional or community-based
approach
Non-institutional correction of offenders, on the other hand is under
the Rehabilitation Bureau, which is also an agency of the Ministry of
Justice. As its name implies, the Rehabilitation Bureau is in charge of the
treatment of offenders that are not confined in prison facilities. This bureau
supervises the administration of probation, parole and after-care services
for ex-prisoners who were already released from prisons. It should be
noted that only about five percent of sentenced adult offenders come
under imprisonment, the rest are screened off and dealt with by other
means instead of incarceration. On the other hand, sentenced juvenile
offenders who actually go to prison is even smaller at only less than one-
half of one percent.
 The Offenders Rehabilitation Law aimed to protect society and
promote the welfare of the public and individuals by promoting the
reformation and rehabilitation of offenders. It ensures the proper granting
of pardons, establishing a fair and adequate system for the administration
of paroles and related matters, and encouraging crime prevention
activities. It clarified the purpose of rehabilitative treatment ...the need for
professional services was clearly recognized. To ensure effective
probation and parole services, the above-mentioned law also required
regularly employed probation officers as the mainstay of the system who
have sufficient expertise in behavioral sciences
The functions of the Juvenile Tribunal were divided and assumed by
three new organizations: the Family Court, the Juvenile Parole Board and
the Juvenile Probation Office. The Juvenile Probation Office was entrusted
with the supervision of juvenile probationers and parolees, 22 years old or
younger, from prisons or juvenile training schools and those discharged by
the criminal court on suspended sentences, age 17 or younger. As for
adult offenders, the Adult Parole Board and the Adult Probation Office
became responsible for screening inmates age 23 and older for parole and
subsequently supervising their release.
 Japanese corrections programs place strong emphasis on
parole instead of waiting for expiration of sentence as a mode of
releasing convicted offenders. Parole facilitates the inmate's
reintegration to society. Upon admission to a correctional facility,
the inmate is immedi- ately prepared for parole release. To be
eligible for parole, an inmate must fulfill two requirements:
1. He has served at least one-third of his minimum sentence;
and
2. He shows that he has reformed.
United States of America
Starting about 200 years ago, the United States has become the
frontrunner on the matter of correction. Their corrections facilities and
programs are the most efficient in terms of technology, facilities, financial
as well as the nature of the caliber of their human resources.
One noteworthy program being implemented in the states of
Nebraska, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota are the parenting
program and nursery facilities being maintained in some prisons of certain
states. Under this program, children of female prisoners are allowed to live
with their incarcerated mothers while serving their sentences. Because of
this, nursery facilities were set up inside the prison. Many corrections
facilities even built separate visitation areas so that children and their
incarcerated mothers can be given the chance to spend memorable times
to play, read or do worthwhile things together. Overnight visits in the
context of parenting programs are also allowed.
 North Carolina called this program MATCH that stands for
Mothers And Their Children and had this installed at the North
Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, North
Carolina. Some states have passed laws making it mandatory
for their social workers to ensure that the children get to visit
their incarcerated mothers. The reason behind this program is
that research has proved that separation of mothers with their
children traumatically affects both parties. If this is not
addressed, treatment of incarcerated mothers will be affected
while their children will have a greatly increased risk of life
failure and incarceration when they grow up.
 The State of Texas created in 1993, special confinement facilities
called state jails for soft offenders or those that were sentenced for light
offenses which were given prison sentences because it is rampant and
posing a menace to society. These soft crimes include possession of small
doses of drugs, credit card abuse and other petty criminal mischiefs. This
new jail system was put in place to save on cost if the soft offenders were
confined in expensive high-security prisons. Another benefit is that these
special inmates need not be exposed to the hardened criminal or
recidivist, which might influence them to become criminal-minded upon
their release.

Since the atmosphere of this state jails are less stringent, Offend- ers
can participate more easily in their rehabilitation and treatment grams.
They can also participate more easily in community programs' life skills
building and educational and vocational training.
 The Prince George's county Department of Corrections (DOC) opened
a direct-supervision facility in Upper Marlboro, Md. in 1987. As name
suggests, direct-supervision approach to managing inmates Is dividing
staff and inmates unlike in traditional facilities creates no wal where
inmates are "caged" in cells that are padlocked while guards watch 24
hours to ensure that the cells remain padlocked. In this approach, staffs
possess excellent interpersonal communication skills and main- tain
good relations with the inmates based on friendship and respect. This
is the basis of a safe and orderly facility rather than threat and coer-
cion, But just in case, prison security is compromised, there is a highly
trained team to respond to the emergency with dispatch to quell any
untoward incident.
 The Marion Correctional Institution for medium-security male prisoners
in the state of Ohio operates a closed-circuit video television stalion
called Prison News Network (PNN) Broadcasting Program. This project
is a component of the education apprenticeship program of the Ohio
Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC). The pro- gram
is aired 16 hours every day of the week and is capable of reaching all
of the state's 34 penal facilities housing 45,000 offenders plus 16,000
corrections personnel of ODRC and the outside community viewership
to which PNN produce special video information and documentary
shows for its community partners.
 PNN started as a program to dish out news of inmate activities and
information to the inmates that may be useful to them. After some
years, other projects of the ODRC and other state prisons were
included. Then in-service trainings of Staff were disseminated through
the PNN. Eventually even institutional events like inmate graduations,
and other happenings inside the prisons were aired.
 The PNN produces various informative programs valuable not only to
the prison network but also to the community at large. The topics
usually produced and shown are about prison-related security issues,
prison and community health, parenting, and many others. The
program also dishes out information about prison rules and regulations,
guides to timely or early release, and anything valuable both to the
prison community and outside community. The circuit provides training
videos to improve staff performance.
South Africa
 A new concept in the treatment and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders
in South Africa is being pioneered in the juvenile section of the
Leeuwkop Medium-B Prison in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is
called Reintegration Center or RC. Should this prove effective, RC's will
be proposed for construction outside of prison facilities where the youth
offenders will be retransformed.
 Reintegration Centers will serve as a platform for the institution Of
programs designed not only to rehabilitate but also to successfully
return young offenders back into mainstream society. The ingredients
must be present to make reintegration a reality are:

1. ardent support from the community.

2. affectionate family cooperation,
3. life skills development.
 The community should be able to make the inmate feel accepted upon
his return. The business community in particular should be able to give
the chance to the released youth to be employed and prove worthy.
The RC program has tapped an employment agency to place the
offender for work commensurate to his qualifications and expectation
upon release. As part of its community support building efforts, RC
program embarked on information campaign in schools, offices,
communities and even international audiences with speakers talking
from their personal experiences who led a life of violence and crime
making the message very forceful but Very convincing.
 The offender's family is also part of the equation for success. They are
his immediate and most reliable pillars of support especially in the early
readjustment periods he will go through after his release. A supportive
family will enhance the youth's resolve to succeed.
Sweden
The basic philosophy of the Swedes as far as their criminal justice is
concerned is that incarceration should as much as possible be avoided.
To them, the cost of imprisoning convicts does not adequately compensate
for the returns they get from hook without in any way being made
responsible and atone for his crime.
Some of the measures adopted as penal sanctions in Sweden are:
 1. Probation.

This is the most common form of sanction used. The probationer is

usually under probation supervision for a period of one year depending
on the severity of the crime and the sentence. Sometimes probation is
granted only after a short prison sentence have been served or the
court-ordered fine have been paid. Just like any other country, any
violation of the terms and conditions of probation will cancel it and the
probationer shall have to serve his sentence behind bars.
 2. Probation with community service.

Under this scheme, the offender has been so sentenced by the courts
to go on probation but must render service to the community
designated by the court. The offender is required to perform work
during his spare time the length of work is between 40 to 240 hours
depending on the seriousness of the crime committed. The Swedish
Probation Service rely on community volunteers to assist in the
supervision Of the probationer's community service. In some cases,
they supervise the probationer themselves. These volunteers are called
lay supervisors and they are responsible for ensuring that the
probationer complies with the conditions of his probation. They also
assist the probationer in meeting his housing needs and finding a job.
 3. Probation with treatment.

Is a method by which convicted offenders with drug abuse problems

undergo compulsory treatment while under probation and be healed as
a condition for not going to prison to serve his sentence.
 4. House imprisonment with probation supervision.

This is something similar to the house arrests resorted to by President

Marcos at the height of the Martial Law years as a way to curtail the
activities of people opposed to his form of government. Under this set-
up of the Swedes an offender is ordered by the court to serve his
sentence at home and the Swedish Probation Service supervises him.
To carry out his supervision, he is monitored at home through electronic
surveillance equipment installed by the authorities at the offender's
home.
 5. Conditional sentencing.

This sanction is applied to first-time offenders where the sentencing

court see that the offender will not likely to commit another crime. This
conditional sentencing penalty will be revoked if the offender commits
another crime within two-years from his original sentencing. The
offender is not supervised and virtually scot-free.
In summary, these penal sanctions are comparably much,
much lenient and liberal compared with the more aggressive
and brutal penal practices imposed in other countries. This,
however, is indicative of the underlying atmosphere of social
democratic philosophies pervading in the Scandinavian
countries of which Sweden is part. This also under- scores the
fact that the Swedes are law-abiding and they are confident
that their brand of justice is more effective without having to
resort to more violent sanctions such as actual imprisonment.
To them, nothing is more abhorrent than to respond to the
problems of criminal' violence and brutality through state
violence and brutality too.
Canada
 The correctional practices of Canada, the United States' backdoor
neighbor to the north, models its programs after the American
experience. But like in many parts of the world, there is a growing
realization in this country of the uselessness of incarceration in
certain cases, particularly drug abuse. Canadian criminal justice
practitioners are finding out that treating offenders in the community
instead of resorting to the uneconomical method of incarcerating
them in expensive prison facilities is more effective.
 With this, the Justice Department of the Federal Government of
Canada came up with a National Strategy on Community Safety and
Crime Prevention program that is funded and administered by the
National Crime Prevention Center. For a starter, they operationalized
a Court in Toronto, Canada which is tasked with supervising the
treatment of offenders charged with prostitution-related offenses,
possession or trafficking of small amounts of drugs, and other similar
non-violent crimes.
The end.

Thank you.