Latest news with #prisons
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
MP raises alarm over poor conditions in detention centres, prisons
Teresa Kok said Suhakam's 2023 report found that poor facilities in detention centres and prisons have led to the spread of infectious diseases among inmates, detainees, and staff. KUALA LUMPUR : Teresa Kok (PH–Seputeh) voiced concern today about human rights violations in Malaysia's detention centres and prisons, highlighting the continued use of outdated facilities and unsanitary conditions. Debating the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia's (Suhakam) 2023 annual report in the Dewan Rakyat, Kok said poor facilities in detention centres and prisons had led to the spread of infectious diseases among inmates, detainees, and staff. 'I was shocked to read that six prisons still use the bucket system,' she said. 'This outdated sanitation method puts the health of both inmates and prison officers at risk.' Adding that the Suhakam report found that police lock-ups in Miri and Papar were in poor and unsafe conditions, she urged the home ministry to take immediate action and find safer alternatives for both detainees and personnel at these facilities. She also raised issues of staff shortages and overcrowding, noting that some prison blocks house over 800 inmates, overseen by only two or three wardens. Kok said this put a severe mental strain on the officers and increased the risk of violence and abuse against inmates. She also linked overcrowding to outbreaks of scabies, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Kok said a large portion of the prison population consisted of remand prisoners, and that overcrowding was forcing these detainees to deal with cramped and inhumane living conditions. 'Long court proceedings only worsen the situation. Many of these detainees are just stuck in cells with no activity, no progress in their cases,' she said. She added that the frequent movement of remand prisoners to and from court had contributed to the smuggling of contraband such as phones, drugs, and tobacco. Kok said the conditions at immigration detention centres were a clear violation of basic human rights. 'Suhakam found that detainees often go without basic hygiene supplies like soap, toothpaste, or toothbrushes. These items are only available if families can afford to bring money during visits,' she said. She called on the home ministry to adopt Suhakam's recommendations and ensure consistent funding to provide basic hygiene items and prevent disease outbreaks. Kok also criticised the government's refusal to grant the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to immigration depots to verify refugees' status. 'This lack of cooperation with the UNHCR is deeply troubling. Refugees deserve proper screening and support,' she said. Kok likewise questioned the delay in presenting the Suhakam report to Parliament. 'Why are we debating the 2023 report in July 2025? We should already be reviewing the 2024 report. This delay makes the discussion less relevant as many issues may no longer reflect current realities.'
BreakingNews.ie
22-07-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Irish Prison Service urged for halt of extra court sittings and use of garda cells to curb overcrowding
The Irish Prison Service pleaded with the Department of Justice to stop scheduling extra court sittings and to consider using cells in garda stations for prisoners. A message from their director of operations said they had done everything in their power to deal with overcrowding in jails as numbers in custody approached 5,000. Advertisement However, the senior official said they had now run out of options and 'decisions outside of their control' meant the number of people in prison would continue to rise. The email was sent last summer as the Irish Prison Service (IPS) struggled with high levels of overcrowding, which have since deteriorated further. The director of operations – whose name was withheld on security grounds under Freedom of Information laws – said there were 'no easy or palatable decisions' left. He said the UK government had just introduced emergency measures and delayed some court cases due to their own problems with overcrowding. Advertisement The message said there were eight steps that needed to be considered or reconsidered as a 'matter of urgency' to ease pressure on Irish jails. This included: 'Cancellation of scheduled additional court sittings and a commitment that no further additional sittings will be arranged pending prison capacity being addressed.' He also called for the decision to appoint or reassign criminal judges to be reconsidered and that cases involving asylum claims be dealt with in 'alternative facilities.' The director of operations said Ireland should also consider delaying court cases and using garda cells to house prisoners. Advertisement He added: '[We should] reconsider the proposal to unilaterally increase the rate of remission provided for under current legislation.' The email said a new policy on bail was needed urgently to ensure people awaiting trial for 'non-serious offences' were not sent to jail. An eighth suggested measure was redacted from the records on the basis it could compromise the security of the prison system. The email was forwarded to the Department of Justice in May along with an update from the governor of Mountjoy Prison, Ray Murtagh. Advertisement The governor's message said: 'We now have an historical number of 912 prisoners in custody this morning and when I previously expressed concern we were at 858. 'I now have all my additional 114 bunk beds filled and an additional 57 on mattresses.' He said the C base of Mountjoy was at full capacity and that a newly arrived batch of twelve prisoners would also have to sleep on mattresses on the floor. 'We are currently over 120 per cent capacity, and this has placed significant unprecedented pressure on the prison,' wrote Mr Murtagh. Advertisement He added that he could see 'no abatement' in sight and that other prisons in Dublin and Laois were also running over capacity. The records were only released this week by the Irish Prison Service following an appeal under FOI. The number of prisoners in custody has since smashed the 5,000 barrier and, on Monday of this week, reached more than 5,500. That included 588 on temporary release as authorities have sought to ease pressure on a system that is operating at 119 per cent of capacity. Asked about the correspondence, a spokesman said: 'The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts. 'As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.' He said temporary release was used on a case-by-case basis and that they were working closely with the Department of Justice to ensure a safe working environment for staff and for prisoners.
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Nigel Farage says Reform would spend over £17bn to halve UK crime
Nigel Farage has committed to spending more than £17bn on policies to halve crime in the UK if he becomes prime minister at the next election. The Reform UK leader said his proposals, which include constructing five ad-hoc 'Nightingale' prisons and deporting more than 10,000 foreign criminals, would be paid for by scrapping HS2 and net zero. At a press conference in London, Farage pledged to force councils run by Reform to host new prisons 'if they're the right locations' and to recruit a 'higher and physically tougher' standard of police officers. A three-page document published by Reform said the total estimated cost of its crime and justice policies was £3.48bn annually, with £2.1bn a year spent recruiting 30,000 more officers and £1bn on creating 12,400 prison places. Other pledges include spending £250m a year on renting prison places abroad in countries such as El Salvador and Estonia, and £80m a year on creating 100 pop-up custody centres in crime hotspots to speed up arrests. Asked how his party would fund these commitments, Farage said: 'We are advocating cutting huge amounts of public spending, starting with the utterly failed, abysmal HS2 project, which the government is quite happy to spend £50bn to £70bn more on over the course of the next few years. And we've talking about the cost of net zero.' Farage said successive home secretaries had contributed to a deterioration in public trust over crime and created conditions that were 'nothing short of societal collapse'. 'People are scared of going to the shops. Scared to let their kids out. That is a society that is degraded. And it's happening very, very rapidly,' he said. Defending people who had joined violent demonstrations outside an asylum hotel in Essex, he said: 'I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience.' Farage used the press conference to pledge that his party would be the 'toughest party on law and order and on crime that this country has ever seen'. 'We will aim to cut crime by half in the first five years of Reform government. We will take back control of our streets. We will take back control of our courts, of our prisons,' he said. 'If you're a criminal, I am putting you on notice today that from 2029 or whenever that may be, either you obey the law or you will face very serious justice.' Farage revealed he was 'in conversation with Edi Rama', the Albanian prime minister, over sending prisoners there but admitted he had not spoken to the government in El Salvador. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Asked about El Salvador's human rights record and overcrowded prisons, Farage appeared to backtrack slightly from the plan. 'People will be tried in this country and El Salvador may be quite an extreme example. But the idea that we could send prisoners to Kosovo, to Estonia is a very, very serious proposal,' he said. Asked about his past defence of James McMurdock, who was elected as a Reform MP despite having a previous conviction for assaulting a girlfriend by repeatedly kicking her, he said: 'The reason that I did defend then as strongly as I did, he was a very good case for somebody who had rehabilitated, who had gone on to live a constructive life, when so many young lads from his part of the world, after their first brush with the law, go on to spend the next 40 years in prison … Do we believe there should be rehabilitation? Absolutely we do.' McMurdock gave up the Reform whip earlier this month amid questions over his eligibility for £70,000 in bounce-back loans he took out during the pandemic.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'Significant increase' in inmates sees rise in cell sharing in NI prisons
Northern Ireland prisons have a "high density" of inmates, with cell sharing at Maghaberry jail on the increase in order to deal with space 40% (567) of prisoners at Maghaberry share cells, a practice referred to as comes as a new report for the Council of Europe (CoE), the human rights watchdog, notes a "significant increase" of prisoners in Northern is primarily driven by remanding people into custody before conviction or sentencing. Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said members of the Prison Service have contacted him recently to raise a number of claimed there are "rising tensions" at Maghaberry, partly due to "low staff levels".The Prison Service said newly trained officers have been deployed to the jail, with a further class of recruits set to join them in two weeks' Ireland's prisoner population currently stands at 2,139, which is up by more than 200 on a year largest prison, Maghaberry, has 1,470 inmates, 737 (50%) of whom are being held on remand. Last year, Maghaberry had to re-open a disused cell block to increase its CoE report describes Northern Ireland as having a "high prison density".But it did not define the situation as overcrowding - this is when there are more than 100 inmates per 100 on data for 2023-24, it said Northern Ireland had 86 prisoners per 100 places.A spokesperson for the Prison Service said: "Whilst challenging, the prison population in Northern Ireland has not yet exceeded available capacity, and we continue to prioritise safe, decent, and secure custody."The Prison Service is working with partners across the justice system to identify actions that can be taken to reduce the current population, with a particular focus on remand."Every day prison staff perform their challenging roles with dedication and professionalism."
Times
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Nigel Farage to build ‘Nightingale prisons' if he wins election
Nigel Farage will pledge to build five prefabricated 'Nightingale prisons' on armed forces land in less than 18 months if he wins the next election. At a press conference on law and order in Westminster on Monday, the leader of Reform UK will announce the party would 'end the prison place shortage' by building 'low-cost, high-security' modular structures. The prisons would be named after historical figures involved in policing reform such as Sir Robert Peel, the Tory prime minister who founded the Metropolitan Police. Reform said the Nightingale prisons would have enough space for 12,400 prisoners and would be built with the help of the army. Nightingale hospitals, named after Florence Nightingale, were set up at short notice in places such as exhibition centres during the pandemic. Farage will say: 'If you're a criminal, we are putting you on notice. In 2029 you have a choice to make: be a law-abiding citizen or face serious justice.' A government source said: 'These are empty promises from Farage, whose plans are unfunded and undeliverable. This government is delivering the biggest jail expansion in over a hundred years, and we've already opened 2,400 cells since taking office.' The government has announced plans to relieve Britain's struggling prisons, including the early release of serious offenders. The measures will apply to criminals whose original sentence was one to four years and will only exclude terrorists and individuals deemed by the police, prisons and probation services to be the highest risk to the public and those who commit serious further offences. On Sunday Farage announced plans to nationalise half of the water industry. Asked how much it would cost to have 50 per cent of the sector under public ownership, he told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: 'That depends what deal you do with the private sector investors. We are in a hell of a mess with this — an increase of the population by ten million has left us completely incapable of coping [and] companies have been badly run … It's all about what deal you strike, isn't it?'
