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Only two of Fiji’s prison institutions now remain unfit for human habitation, falling short of the required standard under the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Offenders.
With 14 institutions located in the major centres around the country, this appears to be good progress for the Fiji Prisons Service, which eight years ago was criticized by the High Court for failing to abide with the required structural standards for its facilities and improve the condition of the cells.
Fiji Commissioner of Prisons Brigadier General Iowane Naivalurua admits that the island prisons on Taveuni and Levuka are not up to par yet and need to be upgraded.
But given the budgetary constraints, priority will have to be given to improving facilities in the more populated urban prisons.
“Let’s say that there are 101 things we would want to do but we cannot,” he told FijiLive.
“We direct resources and perhaps identify the essentials inside the priorities; things like what are needed to be compliant with certain international standards and regulations, human rights issues and their basic needs.
“One of the important things is infrastructure. Our infrastructure is outdated; it was built during those colonial days.”
Naivalarua said apart from costing $40million, building a new prison will take 5 to 10 years to complete.
“So this is where you need to be more decisive, it’s either building new prisons or redeveloping and improving the facilities,” he added.
Overcrowding in Fiji prisons has been a problem for many decades.
A Fiji Prison “country report” said Fiji’s imprisonment rate per 100,000 populations stands at 152.3, which is slightly higher than the rate in New Zealand, which is 152.2 against the population of 3.7 million.
In 2001, Justice Jayant Prakash criticized the Fiji Prisons Service, saying the damp, dark and filthy conditions of the cells coupled with the understated specifications and design were serious threats to the lives of the prisoners.
