correctional reforms
CORRECTIONAL REFORMS.
INTRODUCTION.
A prison or jail is a facility in which people are physically confined and deprived of a range of personal freedoms, generally as a form of punishment that has been forcibly imposed upon them by the state. Prisons may also be used as a tool of political repression to detain political prisoners, particularly by authoritarian regimes. In times of war or conflict, prisoners of war may also be detained in military prisons, and large groups of civilians might be imprisoned in internment camps without being charged with a crime.
Prisoners and detainees in many local, state and federal facilities, including those run by private contractors, confront conditions that are abusive, degrading and dangerous. Soaring prison populations due to harsh sentencing laws—which legislators have been reluctant to change—and immigrant detention policies coupled with tight budgets have left governments unwilling to make the investments in staff and resources necessary to ensure safe and humane conditions of confinement. Such failures violate the human rights of all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
However, in Kenya there have been reforms in the prisons department, and even to changing the name from prison services to correctional services.
In this booklet, am discussing the correctional reforms in Kenya.
History of Prisons.
Prisons of the Middle Ages and Early Modern era
During the Middle Ages in Europe, imprisonment was not used as a punishment in itself, but rather a way to briefly confine criminals until a punishment (often corporal or capital punishment) was administered. The possession of the right and the capability to imprison citizens, however, granted an air of legitimacy to officials at all levels of government, from kings to regional courts to city councils; and the
INTRODUCTION.
A prison or jail is a facility in which people are physically confined and deprived of a range of personal freedoms, generally as a form of punishment that has been forcibly imposed upon them by the state. Prisons may also be used as a tool of political repression to detain political prisoners, particularly by authoritarian regimes. In times of war or conflict, prisoners of war may also be detained in military prisons, and large groups of civilians might be imprisoned in internment camps without being charged with a crime.
Prisoners and detainees in many local, state and federal facilities, including those run by private contractors, confront conditions that are abusive, degrading and dangerous. Soaring prison populations due to harsh sentencing laws—which legislators have been reluctant to change—and immigrant detention policies coupled with tight budgets have left governments unwilling to make the investments in staff and resources necessary to ensure safe and humane conditions of confinement. Such failures violate the human rights of all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
However, in Kenya there have been reforms in the prisons department, and even to changing the name from prison services to correctional services.
In this booklet, am discussing the correctional reforms in Kenya.
History of Prisons.
Prisons of the Middle Ages and Early Modern era
During the Middle Ages in Europe, imprisonment was not used as a punishment in itself, but rather a way to briefly confine criminals until a punishment (often corporal or capital punishment) was administered. The possession of the right and the capability to imprison citizens, however, granted an air of legitimacy to officials at all levels of government, from kings to regional courts to city councils; and the