The government is being urged to help the correctional services improve its facilities to help manage the prisoners.
In a recent outbreak at the Buimo Correctional Institution in Morobe, Commissioner Stephen Pokanis said the burden on officers has increased.
He said over a period of at least three years, a string of prison breaks have occurred – the biggest being the 2017 Buimo mass breakout where 17 inmates were shot dead by prison wardens, three were captured alive and 57 escaped.
“A similar incident also happened in February 2016 where police shot and killed 11 of about 30 prisoners who attacked two prison wardens, wounding 17. In June 2015, 55 prisoners escaped during a heavy downpour, where only nine were captured,” outlined Pokanis.
“I am highlighting this because the story about Buimo is not new. We have asked the government in the last 10 years to address the situation. The situation has come to a position where it’s completely inadequate for officers from correctional services to continue to manage the prisoners.”
Commissioner Pokanis said since 2010, over one thousand prisoners were locked up; the number has gone beyond the capacity of holding inmates at Buimo.
They are now asking the government to address the issue.
“We have asked at least for K5 million to help put up additional dormitories for prisoners so that we ease the overcrowding; to have additional new dormitories for officers so that we ease manpower issue.”
(Article by Jim John – third year UPNG Journalism student; Commissioner Stephen Pokanis with an aerial map of the Buimo facility)