Detention Center Is Over Capacity, Menkum HAM Overcome It by Transferring Prisoners and Assimilation Integration

Menkum HAM Yasonna Laoly/DOC. ANTARA

MAKASSAR - Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkum HAM) Yasonna H Laoly responded to the issue of excess capacity in detention rooms in all prisons and detention centers in a number of regions in Indonesia.

"The step is to send (detainees) to (prisons) that are not crowded. And we also have an integration assimilation program," said Minister Yasonna, after participating in the activities of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) Teaching at PAM Pilot Elementary School, Jalan Ratulangi, Makassar, South Sulawesi was reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, September 28.

In relation to the overcapacity of prisons and remand centers, according to data from the Directorate General of Corrections (Ditjenpas) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham), now the occupants have reached 276,172 people as of 19 September 2022.

Based on this data, there were 144,065 prison residents or about 109 percent of the prison and prison capacity, with details of 227,431 prisoners (convicts), and 48,741 prisoners, Yasonna said, a solution has been sought.

"Of course, adding more prisons according to our financial capacity," said Yasonna.

He hopes that the revision of Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics which is currently being discussed in the DPR RI can be a way out regarding the excess of prisons and remand centers because the majority of prisoners have narcotics cases.

"We hope that with the revision of the Narcotics Law later on. Moreover, after the assessment, addicts are not made (detained) in prison, but rehabilitated. That reduces the pressure on our overcapacity," he said.