According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of repeat offenders among the 22,790 new inmates in 1999 was as many as 10,978. This means the percentage of repeat offenders among the new inmates was as high as 48.2 percent -- on average, one out of every two inmates entering the system last year was a repeat offender. The number of probation revocations in 1999 was 4,055, or 30.3 percent of the 13,310 probations given for the year. These figures were record-breakingly high and demonstrate that many offenders do not repent after their incarcerations.
Up until September 1999, a total of 55,698 inmates were confined in correctional facilities nationwide. The number exceeded the intake capacity of these facilities by 6,735. The over-crowding of inmates exerts extreme pressures on prison staff and increases their turn-over rate.
The lack of physicians and professional disciplinary and security personnel means that special inmates such as gang members, psychiatric patients, drug users and violent offenders such as rapists and and murderers are not offered the appropriate correction and reform.
Correction and reform of criminals are keys to the maintenance of social order, yet the work is shouldered by a small unit under the Ministry of Justice
Following the US, Japanese and Hong Kong precedent, the department, in fact, should become a separate and independent bureau. This bureau should shoulder the responsibility for all the criminal correction and criminal prevention affairs.
In 1999, there were a total of 57,424 probationers under the supervision of the prosecutor offices at district court level. However, the prosecutor offices had only a total of 159 probation officers. On average, each officer had 216 cases, a number that exceeds the standard case load set by the Executive Yuan.
In addition, probation officers are given responsibilities but not adequate authority. They need to report to the prosecutors on every little thing and do not have the ability to impose sanctions. All these things have a negative impact on their efficiency.
Meanwhile, each district prosecutor office has only one chief probation officer, who as a result has absolutely no chance for promotion. This has seriously hurt morale and work efficiency. As a result, many probation officers have quit their jobs.
The lack of attention paid to prison administration and probation personnel, their limited opportunity for promotion, the dangerous of their jobs and the low salaries, not to mention the attack on their job integrity they have to constantly face, make me wonder how can we expect the prison and probation systems to do a good job in criminal correction and crime prevention?
I would like to point out that if the new administration repeats the mistake of its predecessor by focusing on a top-to-bottom judicial reform and crime-fighting policies, yet ignore the reform of prison administration and probation system, it will be unable to accomplish the goal of improving crime-fighting efficiency.
It is unfair to point fingers at the correction agencies and probation department each time society gets upset when a former inmate commits another crime.
To accomplish the goal of comprehensive crime fighting, a thorough reform of prison administration and the probation work is urgently needed.
Yang Shih-lung is a professor of criminology at National Chung Cheng University.
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