The Ministry of Justice has dispatched teams of prison inmates to help in typhoon relief efforts.
The ministry on Tuesday ordered prisoners with records of good behavior or who are serving light sentences to participate in relief efforts in disaster areas.
"The practice not only offers assistance to communities but also helps rehabilitate the prisoners themselves," a section chief from the ministry said yesterday. "By helping people in disaster areas, the prisoners can better regain their self-confidence, and this will help them to more successfully re-enter society in the future."
A Taichung prison official said many prisoners are happy to be contributing to society. "They've put in a good performance on the job these past few days," the official said.
The justice ministry said that as of Friday, 679 prisoners were participating in the program. The inmates come from 17 correctional institutions located in or near Hualien and Nantou counties -- the two areas most seriously affected by last week's Typhoon Toraji.
Led by prison officers, the teams of inmates have been placed under the command of various township chiefs.
Their work has included removing mud, stones and building debris as well as cleaning up streets.
The ministry official said allowing prisoners to perform work for the community would help change how the public thinks about crime and punishment.
"We believe that by letting prisoners work in communities we can change public stereotypes about correctional institutions and offenders," the official said.
Taiwan does not have regular community service programs for prison inmates.
The justice ministry for several years has advocated community service as an alternative form of punishment.
RSS