PRISON REFORM IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

By 1900 Brockway's correctional philosophy had spread throughout the nation. Nonetheless, by
World War I (1914–18), the idea of using educational and rehabilitative approaches was being
replaced by the use of strict discipline. The way the facilities were built, the lack of trained personnel,
and the attitudes of the guards made Brockway's ideas difficult to implement. In addition, the
introduction of a probation system kept the offenders easiest to rehabilitate out of the reformatories.
Despite this return to discipline, the reform movement survived. The progressives of the early
twentieth century believed that if prisons applied the ideas of behavioural science to the inmates,
prisoners could be rehabilitated. The progressives worked to change the social environment from
which criminals came and to design ways to rehabilitate individual inmates. By the 1920s reformers
were strongly advocating indeterminate sentencing, parole, and treatment programs as a way to
rehabilitate offenders, but this approach to corrections was not put into practice until decades later.
While many of the reforms had merit, most could not be properly implemented due to inadequate
funding or the unwillingness of prison officials to act.

REHABILITATION MODEL

The rehabilitation model of corrections began in the 1930s and reached its high point in the 1950s.
Qualified staff members were expected to diagnose the cause of an offender's criminal behaviour,
prescribe a treatment to change the individual, and determine when that individual had become
rehabilitated. Group therapy, counselling, and behaviour modification were all part of the approach.
These techniques did not work with all inmates, especially with those convicted of violent crimes;
most states did not budget enough money for their correctional institutions to achieve these goals;
and there were too many prisoners for the prison staff to treat effectively.

MAJOR PRISON REFORMS

The British colonial rule in India marked the beginning of prison reforms in the country. They
introduced radical changes in the then existing prison system. The Prison Enquiry Committee
appointed by the govt. of India in 1836 recommended the abolition of practice of prisoners on roads.
Adequate steps were also taken corruption among prison staff. An official called the Inspector
General of Prisons was appointed for the first time in 1855 who was the Chief Administrator of
Prisons in British India. His main function was to maintain discipline among the prisoners and prison
authorities.

The Second Jail Enquiry Committee in 1862 expressed concern for the insanitary conditions of Indian
Prisoners which resulted into death of several prisoners. It emphasized the need for proper food and
clothing for the prison inmates and medical treatment for ailing prisoners. Thereafter certain
recommendations were also made by the third Jail Enquiry Committee in 1877 followed by further
suggestions in 1889 and 1892 respectively.

As a result of these recommendations, the Prison Act, 1894 was enacted to bring about uniformity in
the working of prisons in India.

The Prisons Act, 1894 was enacted on 22nd March, 1894 and enforced on 1st July, 1894. The act was
legislated with purpose to amend laws in relation to prisons in India. The term prison shall mean and
include buildings maintained by state government with the purpose to detain prisoners. Section 3 of
the act defines other terms such as ‘criminal prisoner’, ‘convicted criminal prisoner’ and ‘civil
prisoner’. Civil prisoner shall mean prisoner other than criminal prisoner. Chapter II of the act deals
with maintenance and officers of prison. The Act provides for appointment of Prison officers which
shall include superintendent, medical officer, jailer and other such officers shall be appointed as
deemed necessary. The prison shall be under in-charge of Inspector General who shall discharge
functions as directed by the State. The state shall make proper arrangements for accommodation of
prisoners within the prison. In case of an epidemic in the prison or in certain situations when number
of prisoners in prison increases the inspector general under supervision of State shall take necessary
steps for safe custody of prisoners and provide temporary shelter. Chapter III of the Act deals with
duties of officers enumerated under sections 8 to 20. Superintendent and jailer shall be officers of
prison. All officers including jailor shall be subordinate to superintendent who shall be succeeded by
jailer. Superintendent shall act in compliance of orders given by Inspector general and shall look into
matters relating to discipline, expenditure, labour, punishment, maintenance of records relating to
prisoners, visitors and accounts. Medical officer of prison shall be in subordination to superintendent
and shall discharge functions with respect to sanitary conditions, health, treatment of prisoners,
reporting to superintendent with respect to prisoners seriously affected with a disease etc. Apart
medical officer shall also keep record of all particulars such as health, diet, diseases and date of
death of deceased prisoner. Jailer of Prison shall always reside within the premises of prison and
shall not leave prison without prior intimation. Jailer shall maintain all records and shall be in-charge
of prison and documents. Jailor shall be assisted by deputy or assistant jailor. The Act also creates
posts for prisoners, they shall be called as convict prisoners and shall function and carry
responsibilities within prison premises and shall deemed to be public servants. Section 9 of the Act
strictly prohibits jail officers to carry commercial activities within jail premises. Chapter IV of the Act
deals with admission, removal and discharge of prisoners. After conviction when convict enters into
prison he shall be thoroughly checked and all his belongings shall be kept in custody of jailer. Female
convict shall be checked only by female officers. A criminal convict shall be examined by medical
officer and marks and wounds on his body shall be recorded. Prisoner shall only be removed from
prison premises if in the opinion of medical officer he suffers with acute disease. Chapter V deals
with discipline of prisoners, it lays few essentials i.e. that male prisoners shall be separated from
female prisoners, convicted prisoners from under trial prisoners, prisoners under age of 21 shall be
kept separately, prisoners sentence with death sentence shall be kept separately from all others. Civil
or an under trial prisoner shall have an access to commodities from outside the prison subject to
examination of the goods being received. Such prisoners shall provide themselves with clothing’s and
beddings. No part of food, bedding or clothing belonging to civil and under trial prisoner shall allow
to be transferred to convicted prisoners. Chapter VII deals with employment of prisoners. Civil
prisoners shall work after permission from superintendent and shall receive all parts of their
earnings. A criminal prisoner shall not work for more than nine hours and shall work only in case of
emergency. All prisoners convicted for simple imprisonment shall be made to work within the
premises. The Act also lays directions as to taking care of health of prisoners within the prison
premises. Prisoners shall be subject to regular medical check-up and sick prisoners shall be provided
with proper medical care and attention. Sections 42 to 54 deals with offences relating to prison. Any
person who being into or removes from prison prohibited articles, abets offences prohibited under
act or communicates with convicted prisoners shall be punished with imprisonment of six months or
with fine of rupees two hundred or with both. Prison offence are enumerated under section 46,
which shall include wilful disobedience of prison rules, use of criminal force or threatening language,
indecent behaviour, refusal to work, causing damage to prison property or documents, preparation
or conspiring for escape, levelling false accusations against prison officers etc, offences committed
under the section shall be punishable under sections 46 and 47 of the Act. In case a prisoner is in a
habit of committing heinous crime time and again, he shall be forwarded to District Magistrate or
any other Magistrate of first class by superintendent. The act under section 54 lays punishment for
offences committed by prison subordinates. The prisons Act is an exhaustive Act which lays down
laws essential for proper and smooth functioning of prison.

Indian Jail Reforms Committee 1919-20

The Indian Jail Reforms Committee 1919-20 was appointed and headed by Sir Alexender
Cardew to recommend the prison reforms. The Committee highlighted the need for
reformative approach to prison inmates and discouraged the use of corporal punishment in
jails. It emphasized the utilization of productive work for prison inmates so as to earn their
own living. It was also highlighted that the maximum capacity of each jail should be fixed as
per its shape and size. In 1949, the Pakwasa Committee accepted the system of utilising
prisoners as labour for road work and the payment of wages for their work was introduced.
Further, a Model Jail was established at Lucknow in 1949 where the prisoners were made to
work on handloom machines and engaged in other home industries.

Indian Prison After Independence:

The modern Indian prison system is an overall institution for the treatment and reformation
of inmates which emphasized on to avail the facilities like medical aid, educational and
occupational training, Community service etc. A Committee was appointed to prepare an All
India Jail Manual in 1957 on the basis of the suggestions made by Dr.W.C. Reckless, a
technical expert of United Nations on Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders, which
focused on the reformative methods of probation and parole should be used to reduce the
burden on prisons. It was also added that Solitary confinement as a mode of punishment
should be abolished.

In 1980, the Government of India appointed an All India Jail Reforms Committee headed
by Justice A.N. Mulla. The Committee recommended setting up a National Prison
Commission to bring about modernization of prisons in India. It emphasized on the removal
of the existing conflict of prison administration at the Union and State levels. It would be
advisable by Mulla Committee to constitute an All India Service called the Indian Prisons and
Correctional Service for recruitment of Prison officials, so that the prison staff should be
properly trained into different cadres. The Committee recommended a segregation for
different categories of offenders were as follow:

 Separate prisons for undertrials.

 Separate prisons for women.
 Separate institutes for juveniles and young offenders.
 Security prisons for hardened criminals.
In 1988, the National Expert Committee on Women Prisoners was appointed and headed
by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, which recommended induction of more women police force in
respect to tackle the women and child offenders. A new Section 436-A was inserted in the
Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides that where an under-trail prisoner has gone
under the detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of
imprisonment specified for that offence, he shall be released by the Court on his personal
bond with or without sureties.
The Repatriation Of Prisoners Act, 2003:

The Government of India brought out the Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003 with a view to
providing for transfer of sentenced prisoners from India to another country or place. The Act
provides that the Indian Government had to arrange the transfer of the prisoner undergoing
a sentence of imprisonment under an order passed by the Criminal Court. The agreement of
transfer has been mutually signed by both the countries but agreement come into force
after ratification by both the countries.

Model Prison Manual, 2016:

The National Crime Records Bureau had drafted a Model Prison Manual in 2013 and 2016,
which is a detailed document dealing with various issues such as custodial management,
medical care, education in prisons, legal aid, vocational training, computerisation and skill
development programmes etc. The Supreme Court held in Inhuman Conditions in 1382
Prisons[1] case, to look into the aspects of jail reforms across the country and suggest
measures to deal with them. The various aspects which Court mentioned were to fill up the
vacancies for prison staff, preparation of manuals for prison officials and encourage open
prisons.

In the Inhuman Conditions in 1382 prisons case in 2016, the court reviewed the progress
with regard to Model Prison Manual and identified 6 main issues which need to be tackled
on priority basis :

a) Undertrial Review Committee in all districts to adopt Standard Operating Procedure

to be finalised.
b) Overcrowding -the HCs should take necessary steps in this regard
c) Vacancies in prison staff- CJI of HCs should take necessary steps to fill in the vacancy
d) Women prisoners and their children should be taken care of
e) Training manuals- BPRD has to prepare training manuals for prison officials and
prison staff
f) Open prisons

Model Prisons Act 2023

 Need:
o There are “several lacunae” in the old pre-Independence
act, Prisons Act of 1894 and there was “conspicuous omission” of
the correctional focus in the existing Act.
o The Prison Act 1894 mainly focuses on keeping the criminals in
custody and enforcement of discipline and order. There is no
provision for reform and rehabilitation of prisoners in this Act.
  Salient Features of the New Act:
o Provisions of punishment for prisoners and jail staff for use of
prohibited items such as mobile phones in jails.
o Establishment and management of high security jails, open jail
(open and semi-open).
o Provisions for protecting society from the criminal activities of
hardened criminals and habitual offenders.
o Providing legal aid to prisoners, parole, furlough and premature
release to incentivize good conduct.
o Security assessment and segregation of prisoners, individual
sentence planning; grievance redressal, prison development
board, attitudinal change towards prisoners and provision of
separate accommodation for women prisoners, transgender, etc.
o There are provisions for use of technology in prison administration
with a view to bring transparency in prison
administration, provision for videoconferencing with courts,
scientific and technological interventions in prisons, etc.
In India, prisons and prisoners constitute state subject. The Model Prisons Act 2023 may
serve as a guiding document for states for adoption into their jurisdiction.
MAJOR PROBLEMS FACED BY PRISONERS
Ram Murthy Vs. State of Karnataka , has observed various issues faced by the prisoners which
seriously needs reforms. The issues are as follows:- 1. Overcrowding 2. Unnatural death 3.
Insufficient foods 4. Inadequate clothing 5. Delay in trial 6. Improper medical facility 7. Inadequacy of
trained staffs 8. Prison vices 9. Torture and ill-treatment 10. Deficiency in communication.

OVERCROWDING

It is an undeniable fact that prisons in India are generally overcrowded. For instance, there were 814
prisoners in Sambalpur circle jail against the capacity of 5419 . Around 100 offenders were brought to
the Jail between Sept 5, 2020 and Sept 15, 2020 and majority of them are involved in petty offences.
According to the data of National Crime Record Bureau as on Dec, 2013 the number of Under Trial
Prisoners was 67.6% of the entire prison population. Therefore, sec 436 and 436-A of Criminal
Procedure Code, 1973 needs to be invoked. Plea-braining as provided under sec 265-A also be used
to reduce the pendency of cases and reducing overcrowding in prisons. The All India Committee on
Jail reforms headed by Justice Mulla has in its report classified on various types of remission and
advocated for useful recommendations to streamline the remission system in India. It was also
suggested that earnest effort be made towards invoking provisions like Plea-bargaining, fast track
courts and Lok Adalats and production of accused before the court directly or via videoconferencing.

PRISON DISCIPLINE

Prison discipline has always grasped the attention of the penologist throughout the world. Once
Donald Taft, while expressing his view about the prison administration, commented that prisons are
deliberately so planned as to provide unpleasant compulsory isolation from general society.
According to him, a prison characterizes rigid discipline, provision of bare necessities, strict security
arrangements and monotonous life. Chapter V, sec 27 to 30 of the Act deals with the discipline of
prisoners. The consciousness of subjection to compulsive forces of the State through the agency of
prison often leads to scuffle between prison officials and the inmates. The custody of prisoners
should therefore, ensure their safety and security as also minimize the chances of conflict with prison
administrators. Cruel inhumane degrading punishment is to be mitigated at all cost to truly reform
them and imbibe humane and ethical values while furthering the inclusion in mainstream.

IMPROPER MEDICAL FACILITY

Health essentially constitutes a vital factor that prison authorities need to pay attention. It is
disheartening to note that despite the sizeable prison population in India, there exist acute lacks of
published information about the prevalence of health problems in prisons. Chapter VIII, Sections 37
to 39 of the Prisons Act, 1894 deal with the health of prisoners. According to this chapter, every
prisoner should be asked about his health at the time of entering the prison. It will be the duty of the
state government to ensure safety and control the spread of the disease not only to the prisoners
but also to the people living outside the jails. The most common diseases that are found in the
prisons are anaemia, tuberculosis, diarrhoea and HIV AIDS. TB is considered to be the single biggest
cause of death among the world’s prison populations. In order to tackle the problem of prisoners,
volunteers may be deployed in the prison for nursing. In Anil Kumar Vs State of M.P, the Madhya
Pradesh High Court issued directions to the state to initiate adequate steps to control spread of
diseases in prisons. Recently the Supreme Court has been instrumental in directing various state
governments to decongest the jails and make necessary arrangements to contain the spread of
infectious disease transmission.

CRIMINALITY AMONG THE INMATES

A major problem attributable to prison discipline is criminality among inmates inside the prison. The
prime cause for criminality among prison inmates is their frequent quarrels inside the institution.
Each prisoner tries to establish his superiority over his fellow comrades. Therefore, prisoners often
narrate their stories of courage with exaggeration while committing crimes. Sometimes the situation
takes the shape of a group rivalry resulting in skirmishes among the prisoners. To ensure inspections
and visiting of district level officials, the District Legal Service authorities (DLSA) is entrusted with the
duty to provide in regular intervals legal aid and other humanitarian assistance for their well-being
and contemporary difficulties.

Rights of prisoners

Right to dignified life ( Francis Coralie . UT of Delhi)

Right to free legal aid (M H Hoskot v. state of Maharashtra)

Right against handcuffing (prem shankar Shukla v. Delhi administration)

Right to speedy trial ( Hussainara Khatoon v. Home secretary Bihar)

D.K Basu v. State of West Bengal

Joginder Kumar v. state of UP

Kerala Prisons Correctional Services and Management Act, 2010

This Act to provide for the safe custody, correction, reformation, welfare and rehabilitation
of prisoners and management of prisons and correctional services in the State
Section 4 deals with Powers and functions of Director General of Prisons and Correctional
Services,. - (1) The Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services shall exercise or
perform his powers and functions in accordance with the Act and the rules made
thereunder.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the above, the Director General shall exercise or
perform the following powers and functions, namely:-
(a) to implement policies of Government relating to prisoners and prisons,
(b) to plan, organise, coordinate and control the activities of prison and correctional
services,
(c) to define the functions and fix channels of command of the prison personnel,
(d) to inspect prison institutions and ensure proper implementation of programme or
measures for the reformation, correctional services, welfare and rehabilitation,
treatment and training of prisoners, protection of human rights of prisoners and
ensure discipline among officers and staff.

Section 11 deals with establishment of State Institute of Correctional Administration. - (1)

There shall be a State Institute of Correctional Administration, for imparting basic training
and conducting refresher and re-orientation courses to officers and warder staff in the
prison.
(2) The State Institute of Correctional Administration shall be headed by as officer not below
the rank of Central Prison Superintendent and designated as Director.
(3) The Institute shall have such other officers and staff as the Government may deem
necessary.
(4) The State Institute of Correctional Administration shall also conduct seminars,
symposiums, other awareness activities, etc on subjects relevant to prison management and
correctional administration.
(5) The Institute shall be a Centre of learning for Prisons and Correctional Services and shall
undertake research and analysis on such subjects and issues, as the Government may deem
fit, for the improvement in the standards of functioning and performance of prison and
promote correctional services to prisoners.

Section 12 deals with Functions of a Prison. - The Functions of prison shall be,-
(i) to keep in safe custody of a prisoner committed to it under any writ, warrant or an
order of any court or other competent authority,
(ii) to give correctional treatment to the prisoners in custody so as to efface from their
mind the evil influence of anti-social ways of life and to rehabilitate them in the
society as good citizens,
(iii) to provide the prisoners with food, clothing, accommodation and other necessities
of life and adequate medical treatment and care of sick prisoners,
 (iv) to adopt measures for developing a healthy social outlook,
(v) to adopt measures,-
(vi) to put the prisoners sentenced to rigorous imprisonment to labour,
(b) to put the prisoners to vocation-oriented labour,
(c) to put the prisoners on activities in the prison like cooking, sanitary services,
gardening etc on a roaster basis,
(vi) to take measures for physical, mental and moral uplift of the prisoners,
(vii) to provide educational and other facilities for improving qualities, character and
mental attitude of prisoners,
(viii) to take measures for the safety and security of prisoners,
Section 24 deals with submission of medical report by the medical board constituted in case
of serious illness of the inmate. If there are no chances of recovery, the report is sent to the
Director General of prisons who in turn sends it to govt. for appropriate orders.
Section 28 says about constituting a discipline committee comprising Superintendent,
Deputy Superintendent, medical officer for maintaining discipline in prisons.
Section 8 deals with classification of prisoners and provides for separate lodging of various
prisoners.
Reformatory approaches in the Kerala Prisons & Management Act
Section 62 deals with Educational facilities. - There shall be adequate facilities for imparting
education to deserving prisoners in all such prisons as may be prescribed Facilities shall also
be provided for education of prisoners with the objective of their ultimate rehabilitation in
society. The main objectives of education in the prisons shall be,-
(1) providing opportunities to the illiterate inmates to achieve at least a certain
minimum level of education in reading writing and basics in arithmetic,
(2) enabling literate inmates to achieve educational standard up to matriculation level,
(3) extending facilities to matriculates to advance their education through distance
education programmes,
(4) enabling better physical and mental health through lectures on health and hygiene,
physical exercises, yoga, etc, and their practice, and
(5) providing inputs in moral and spiritual Fields through lectures, meditation, group
prayers, reading out books on ethics and moral values.
63. Prison School. - There shall be a school in every Central Prison and in such other prisons
as may be prescribed by Government for providing education to the inmates up to primary
level Classes for higher levels may also be arranged depending on requirements.
64. Nursery School and Creche. - In every Women's Prison, there shall be a nursery school
and creche facility for the children of convicted female prisoners who live in the prison along
with their children aged up to six years.
65. Prison library. - There shall be a library in every Central prison, Open prisons and
Women's prisons to cater the intellectual needs of the inmates, and to facilitate their
reformation.
66. Religious and moral instructions. - Religious and moral instructions shall be provided to
prisoners through reliable and reputed personalities from all religions for providing religious
and moral inputs to the inmates. The institutions and personalities approved in this behalf
by the Director General shall be permitted to render religious and moral instructions to
prisoners. The services of reliable voluntary agencies and Non-Government Organisations
may be availed for organizing religious, spiritual, cultural and recreational programmed in
prisons. The organization of such welfare programmes shall be the responsibility of the
Welfare Officer.
67. Reformation and pre-release programmes. - (1) The Government and the Director
General shall undertake measures, formulate and implement programmes for the
reformation of the prisoners.
(2) The Director General shall arrange suitable pre-release programmes in such prisons as
the Government may direct for the benefit of those prisoners who are sentenced to more
than three years of imprisonment, with the objective of their ultimate rehabilitation in
society in such manner as may be prescribed.
68. Recreations and Sports activities. - The Superintendent shall, with the assistance of
subordinate officers, organise regular recreational and sports activities for the benefit of the
inmates in such prisons.
69. After care and rehabilitation. - (1) The Government shall, provide assistance to the
prisoners before their release from prison, for their financial and social rehabilitation.
(2) The criteria for such assistance, manner of payment and matters connected therewith
shall such, as may be prescribed.
70. Prisoner' Welfare Fund. - (1) The Government may, by notification, frame a Scheme to
be called the "Kerala prisoners" Welfare Fund Scheme" for the establishment of a Fund
under this Act for the welfare of the prisoners in the State and there shall be established, as
soon as may be after the framing of the Scheme, a Fund called the Kerala Prisoners' Welfare
Fund, in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the Scheme framed thereunder.
(2) The management of the Fund and its administration shall be vested in a Committee
constituted as per the scheme.
(3) The Fund shall be established with an initial corpus of such amount as the Government
may provide by way of grants or loans and such yearly contributions made on subsequent
years for providing benefits to prisoners and their families and also for providing financial
assistance for the rehabilitation of prisoners.
(4) Donations from individuals, organisations, trusts etc, as may be specified in the scheme.
(5) The prisoners shall also contribute such portion of the wages that may be received by
them for labour or work done in prison.
Thus the Act also provides for remission, parole etc to the prisoners. Thus this legislation
emphasizes the role of state in the management of prisons and prisoners.

Institutions for women

Women's prisons
The majority of women incarcerated have experienced abuse before prison, and while they
are incarcerated they may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Sexual offenses against
women prisoners can include rape, assault, and groping during pat frisks. Male correctional
officials often violate women prisoners’ privacy by watching them undress, shower, and go
to the bathroom. Research suggests that, “women with histories of abuse are more likely to
accept sexual misconduct from prison staff because they are already conditioned to respond
to coercion and threats by acquiescing to protect themselves from further violence”. “In
federal women’s correction facilities, 70% of guards are male,” reinforcing female inmates’
powerlessness. Most inmates are women of color from low socioeconomic backgrounds and
therefore suffer from both chronic diseases that are common in minorities (such as diabetes,
heart disease, and hypertension) and health problems that may result from living in poverty
(such as malnutrition, etc.). Incarcerated women suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS,
infectious disease, reproductive issues, and chronic diseases. Within the American prison
system, HIV became more prevalent among women than among men. According to the U.S.
Department of Justice, from 1991 to 1998 the number of women prisoners with HIV
increased by 69%, while the equivalent figure among male prisoners decreased by 22%
during the same time period. The New York State Department of Health stated in 1999 that
women entering New York state prisons had twice as high of an HIV rate as men entering
New York state prisons. At the end of the year 2000 women in U.S. state prison systems had
a 60% higher likelihood of carrying HIV than men in American state prison systems. The
needs of mothers during pregnancy and childbirth often conflict with the demands of the
prison system. “In 2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics stated that, on average, 5% of
women who enter into state prisons are pregnant and in jails 6% of women are pregnant”.
Very few of these women receive prenatal care, which can be very detrimental to both the
mother and child, especially when coupled with inmates’ histories of inadequate health care
as well as sexual, physical and substance abuse. Most of these pregnancies are deemed as
high risk. Additionally, a lack of maternity clothes and resources to deal with premature
births, false labors, and miscarriages pose serious challenges to prisoners. Furthermore,
incarcerated women are a source of free labor for private companies. It is recorded that if
women decline to work, then their medicinal needs are not fulfilled. This becomes a major
issue for pregnant women who may not physically be able to work but are in dire need of
medical care. Most pregnant women are shackled on grounds of security in labor and
delivery. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals established that is unconstitutional in 2009, and
prohibited restraint of women during labor.
Vigilance home
The government vigilance home run by the Directorate of Social Defense was set up during
the British rule in 1930 under the Madras Vigilance Service. From 1948, the T.N. government
has been running it. Women convicted by the court under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act
(ITPA) are detained in this institution. Girls joining voluntarily with the permission of the
Director of Social Defense, orphaned or abandoned girls who are mainly shifted from
juvenile homes , girls kidnapped and rescued by the police, women rescued from brothel
homes are also housed as inmates of Stri Sadna (see box for example of the sort of cases
that come to Stri Sadna). Unwed mothers are also kept in the home. The government
vigilance home consists of a fairly large campus with the main administrative block. The
office is on the ground floor of this building while the first floor is used for storing mats,
washed laundry etc and the second floor is not in use but locked up. Adjacent to this is the
barrack which houses those remanded and convicted under the ITPA. In front of this barrack
is a dining room where all the inmates take their meals. Some distance away is another
building, the ground floor of which is used to house the Stri Sadna inmates and the unwed
mothers. There is also the mat weaving and the tailoring room, a store etc. The first floor has
the same layout with most of the rooms lying unused-there is a welfare officerís room, a
doctor/psychologists room, the library etc. Apart from this there are also other buildings
which are vacant such as the quarters for the assistant superintendent, the remand house
(earlier used for remanded inmates) which also has a waiting room for visitors. Women who
are placed in the government vigilance home, Chennai and the protective home Coimbatore
are mostly those, under the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act
1956(amended to Immoral Traffic Prevention Act). All the rules under this act pertaining to
protective homes are applicable.
Protective Home
The government protective home was started in 1981 and covers the Coimbatore and
Yelagiri jurisdictions. It was earlier functioning as a ‘Rescue Home’ under the Revenue
department. The building consists of 2 office rooms, a hall, a TV room, a room where the
inmates sleep and the kitchen area.
Open prisons in India
An open prison, also called minimum-security prison, open camp, or prison without bars, is a
prison which is open in four respects:
 Open to prisoners,
i.e., inmates can go to market at sweet will during the day but have to come back in the
evening;
 open in security,
i.e., there is absence of precautions against escape, such as walls, bars, locks and armed
guards;
 Open in organisation,
i.e., working is based on inmates' sense of self-responsibility, self-discipline, and self-
confidence; and
 Open to public,
i.e., people can visit the prison and meet prisoners. It is the kind of authority and the nature
of management transferred to the inmates and the degree of freedom from physical
restraints (to escape) that should be the real measure of openness of an open prison. The
main objectives of establishing open prisons are: to reduce overcrowding in jails, to reward
good behaviour, to give training in self reliance, to provide dependable permanent labour for
public works, to prevent frustrations and create hope among long-termers, to provide
training in agriculture and industry, to examine the suitability of releasing offenders from
prisons, and to enable prisoners to live with their family members (in some states).
 The first open prison was established in Switzerland in 1891, in the United States in
1916, in Britain in 1930, and in the Netherlands in 1950. By 1975, there were 13
open prisons in England, 25 in the United States, four each in Sri Lanka and the
Australia, three in Hong Kong, two each in New Zealand, China, Japan, Malaysia,
Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand, and 23 in India (Ghosh, 1992: 9-10). In India, the
first open prison was started in 1905 in Bombay Presidency. The prisoners were
selected from the special class prisoners of Thane Central Jail, Bombay. However,
this open prison was closed in 1910. The state of Uttar Pradesh established the first
open prison camp in 1953 for the construction of a dam over Chandraprabha River
near Benaras (now Varanasi). Uttar Pradesh was followed by many other states in
establishing j open prisons. The area of open prisons in different states varies from
10 to 50 acres except in Andhra Pradesh (which has 1,427 acres), and Sitarganj
camp, Nainital, Uttar Pradesh (which has 3,837 acres) The open prisons, usually
located on the outskirts of a town fall within five kilometers of the nearest town,
except in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh where they are situated 15 to 35 kilometres from
the nearest towns. The capacity of prisons varies from less than 100 to 1,000
prisoners. The nature of accommodation also differs from place to place. Assam,
Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh prisons have permanent barracks; Mysore prison has
pre-fabricated structure, and Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra prisons provide
dormitories with asbestos roofs. Some of these prisons provide work only in
agriculture, some in industries, and some both in agriculture and industries.
Eligibility conditions for admission to open prisons vary from state to state. The main
conditions are:
 Prisoners should be willing to abide by the rules of open prisons;
 They should be physically and mentally fit to work;
 They should have been sentenced for terms of one year or more and must have
spent at least one-fourth of the total term of imprisonment in jail;
 They should have record of good behaviour in prisons; They should not be below 21
years or above 50 years as prescribed by the state;
 They should not have been convicted for certain types of crimes (like dacoity,
forgery, counterfeiting, etc.);
 They should not have any case pending in the courts;
 They should not be habitual offenders; and
 they should not be class I (one) prisoners or women prisoners.
The procedure for selection of prisoners for open prisons is simple. The
superintendents of prisons prepare lists of prisoners to be sent to open prisons on
the basis of the eligibility conditions (as described above). These lists are sent to the
selection committees which examine each case history and make the final selection.
About 60 per cent of prisoners in open prisons are those who have been sentenced
for more than 10 years, while about 85 per cent are those who have been
 imprisoned for more than 5 years. The average stay in the prison varies from two to
three years. The wage system also varies from prison to prison. It may thus be
maintained that open prisons differ from the ordinary prisons in four respects:
 in structure (affecting organisation and administration),
 in role systems (affecting work and interaction in everyday life),
 in normative systems (affecting social restrictions and expectations guiding
behaviour), and
 in value orientations (affecting conduct and training).