Overcrowding in prisons: Capacity exceeded by 5.6% says Prisons DG

 

KUALA SELANGOR: Sixty prisons nationwide are currently housing approximately 75,000 inmates, surpassing the capacity limit of 71,000 prisoners.

Prisons Department director-general Datuk Nordin Muhamad said that this indicated overcrowding in prisons, with the number of inmates exceeding 5.6% of the designated capacity.

He said that this did not include nearly 4,000 more prisoners undergoing rehabilitation in the community through the Compulsory Attendance Order, Parole, and Licensed Release of Prisoners (PBSL) programmes.

"The current success rate of the Malaysian Prisons Department in rehabilitating offenders is at 82.4%, meaning that after their release, this group does not relapse into crime within a three-year period."

He said this when presenting a briefing to the Crown Prince of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah who visited the Puncak Alam Correctional Centre on Tuesday (Jan 16).

Earlier, Tengku Amir Shah also visited the classes at the centre’s Integrity School and watched the musical theatre performance titled Bila Anak Laut Berdoa by the inmates. - Bernama