Indian jails remained overcrowded and under-staffed in 2019: NCRB data
NEW DELHI:
Jails across India
remained
overcrowded in 2019 with these facilities lodging 4.78 lakh prisoners against the actual capacity of 4.03 lakh, reveals the latest data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
On the other hand, the prisons were under-staffed with a sanctioned strength of 87,599, while the actual strength was 60,787 as on December 31, 2019, the data showed.
The actual capacity of prisons has increased to 4.03 lakh in 2019 from 3.91 lakh in 2017 and 3.96 lakh in 2018 (as on December 31 of these respective years), it said.
The number of prisoners lodged in various
jails increased to 4.78 lakh in 2019 from 4.50 lakh in 2017 and 4.66 lakh in 2018 (as on December 31 of each year).
The total number of prisons in the country were 1,361, 1,339 and 1,350 at the end of 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. The occupancy rates during the period rose steadily at 115.1 per cent, 117.6 per cent and 118.5 per cent, respectively, according to the data.
Out of the 4.78 lakh prisoners in 2019, 4.58 lakh were men and 19,913 women, the NCRB, under the Union home ministry, stated.
The total 1,350 prisons in the country in 2019 consisted of 617 sub
jails, 410 district
jails, 144 central
jails, 86 open
jails, 41 special
jails, 31 women
jails, 19 Borstal School and two other
jails, it added.
The central
jails of the country had the highest capacity of inmates (1.77 lakh) followed by district
jails (1.58 lakh) and sub
jails (45,071) last year.
Among the other types of
jails, special
jails, open
jails and women
jails had the capacity of 7,262, 6,113 and 6,511 inmates, respectively, as on December 31, 2019, the data said.
The highest number of inmates were lodged in central
jails (2.20 lakh) followed by district
jails (2.06 lakh) and sub
jails (38,030). The total number of inmates in women
jails were 3,652, the data showed.
The highest occupancy rate was in district
jails (129.7 per cent) followed by central
jails (123.9 per cent) and sub
jails (84.4 per cent). The occupancy rate in women
jails was 56.1 per cent by the end of 2019, it showed.
According to the data, the sanctioned strength of jail staff was 87,599, while the actual strength was 60,787 by the end of 2019.
Among the jail staff, the sanctioned strength of officers (DG/Additional DG/IG, DIG, AIG, superintendent) was 7,239, but the actual strength was 4,840.
Similarly, the sanctioned strength for jail cadre staff (Head Warder, Head Matron, Warder) and correctional staff (probation officer or welfare officer, psychologist/psychiatrist) was 72,273 and 1,307, respectively, while their actual strength was 51,126 and 761, respectively last year, the NCRB data said.
The sanctioned strength of medical staff was 3,320, while the actual strength was 1,962 as on December 31, 2019. The actual strength of women jail officers and staff was 7,794 (including 254 medical staff) that year, the data added.