KUALA LUMPUR: The Prisons Department will utilise former National Service camps to house prisoners as part of their reformation strategy in a bid to reduce overcrowding and recidivism across all prisons.
The former National Service camps, according to the department, would be used as Resident Reintegration Centers and Satellite Prisons.
Additionally, the department will also study the use of Electronic Monitoring devices (EMDs) for low-risk prisoners on remand to avoid holding them in prison.
Other efforts to reduce overcrowding include installing bunk beds for the use of prisoners in prison cells and dormitories, and working with the court to speed up trials.
The department will also focus on their community rehabilitation programme to reduce the recidivism rate.
"So far, the community rehabilitation programme has involved a total of 82,487 prisoners, and the recidivism rate is only 0.24 percent.
"The community rehabilitation programme also involved a number of convicted prisoners currently placed in Sungai Buloh prison," read a statement from the department today.
The department said measures taken previously had successfully reduced overcrowding in the Sungai Buloh prison.
"The excess of prisoners at this point (in Sungai Buloh prison) is at 36 per cent compared to the maximum capacity of 4,200 prisoners, which is an additional 20 per cent of the existing capacity.
The rate is based on international regulation, and measures to reduce congestion will continue with the cooperation from various agencies with a focus on reducing the number of remand prisoners.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh yesterday (Feb 2) expressed concern over the overcrowding at the Sungai Buloh prison.
Ramkarpal, who visited the prison, said the number of inmates exceeded the prison's capacity by over 2,000.