Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in Bangladesh (IRSOP) [A joint project of Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and GIZ] Key Statistics May 2018 Official capacity of Actual population in Prisoners in Bangladesh 36,614 Prisons 86,433 As of 31/05/2018 | Source: Prisons Directorate, Bangladesh Achievements by the Paralegal Advisory Services (PAS) from March’09 to May’18 Released on Bail, Discharged and Acquitted* 19,400 - PAS Interventions 553,032 Achievements by the Paralegal Advisory Services (PAS) from December’13 to May’18 Persons assisted in Courts Persons assisted in Police 217,568 Stations 21,487 Reducing Recidivism from December’13 to May’18 Person attended Skill Identified Drug dependent Drug dependent prisoners Development Training prisoners for referral received Counselling and 9,700 13,200 other services 8,999 Mediation, Restorative Justice and Diversion from October’13 to May’18 Mediation Restorative Justice Diversion 9,613 6,825 10,543 *Prisoners released through project interventions from January’09 to May’18 Released on Bail, Name of the Prison Official Capacity Actual Prisoners Under trial Convicted Discharged & Acquitted* Barishal Central Jail 633 1276 858 67% 418 33% 739 Bogura District Jail 720 2298 2013 88% 285 12% 2414 Brahmanbaria District Jail 504 1300 1110 85% 190 15% 105 Chandpur District Jail 200 578 476 82% 102 18% 645 Chattogram Central Jail 1853 7708 7014 91% 694 9% 880 Cumilla Central Jail 1742 2983 2314 78% 669 22% 905 Dhaka Central Jail** 4590 9797 7955 81% 1842 19% 4834 Dinajpur District Jail 2000 1327 977 74% 350 26% 285 Faridpur District Jail 719 1150 888 77% 262 23% 198 Gaibandha District Jail 200 1060 900 85% 160 15% 79 Gazipur District Jail 207 1225 1078 88% 147 12% 186 Gopalganj District Jail 348 430 353 82% 77 18% 577 Jhenaidah District Jail 200 555 408 74% 147 26% 152 Jashore Central Jail 1919 1577 1051 67% 526 33% 428 Kashimpur Central Jail-I 548 1660 1284 77% 376 23% Kashimpur Central Jail-II 2000 2963 2215 75% 748 25% ** Kashimpur Central Jail-III 200 688 556 81% 132 19% Khulna District Jail 608 1524 1124 74% 400 26% 311 Kishoreganj District Jail 245 1198 848 71% 350 29% 330 Kustia District Jail 600 836 600 72% 236 28% 211 Madaripur District Jail 110 494 450 91% 44 9% 1505 Manikganj District Jail 100 800 686 86% 114 14% 169 Moulvibazar District Jail 316 724 577 80% 147 20% 217 Munshiganj District Jail 164 734 598 81% 136 19% 53 Mymensingh Central Jail 996 1803 1366 76% 437 24% 446 Naogaon District Jail 587 1538 1277 83% 261 17% 29 Narayangonj District Jail 200 2019 1788 89% 231 11% 80 Narsingdi District Jail 244 1291 1114 86% 177 14% 366 Natore District Jail 200 1055 602 57% 453 43% 24 Netrokona District Jail 400 748 644 86% 104 14% 6 Noakhali District Jail 388 892 703 79% 189 21% 29 Pabna District Jail 571 1602 1407 88% 195 12% 111 Patuakhali District Jail 278 623 523 84% 100 16% 114 Rajshahi Central Jail 1460 3519 2233 63% 1286 37% 1287 Rangpur Central Jail 1279 1810 1189 66% 621 34% 519 Satkhira District Jail 400 644 519 81% 125 19% 76 Shariatpur District Jail 100 401 333 83% 68 17% 246 Sherpur District Jail 100 469 381 81% 88 19% 28 Sirajganj District Jail 200 1117 929 83% 188 17% 220 Sunamganj District Jail 435 807 691 86% 116 14% 17 Sylhet Central Jail 1210 2183 1433 66% 749 34% 496 Tangail District Jail 467 1471 1135 77% 336 23% 31 Thakurgaon District Jail 168 376 316 84% 60 16% 52 Total 30,409 69,253 54916 79% 14336 21% 19400 ** Cumulative figure of prisoners released on bail, discharged and acquitted from Kashimpur Central Jail I, II and III are included in Dhaka Central Jail. Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in Bangladesh (IRSOP) In 2008, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Bangladesh, and the Prison Directorate initiated the project, Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in Bangladesh (IRSOP). The project recruited and trained eighteen paralegals, five of them women, who began providing free legal aid to prisoners and their families in three pilot districts (five prisons), while also assisting lawyers, the police, and the courts. Their work was very successful that the MoHA and the Prison Directorate expanded the project across the country. Work in the prisons is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). In January 2013, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) agreed to provide the finance needed to expand the project to 40 districts (43 prisons) by 2018 and to initiate measures to divert people away from the criminal justice system and prevent them from re-offending after they leave prison. Paralegals are not lawyers; they are like paramedics in the health care system. After being trained and mentored, they start working in prisons, courts and police stations within an agreed Code of Conduct with prison authorities and police. They perform as the lubricant in the criminal justice process. Every day, the paralegals enter the lock ups of different prisons in various districts of Bangladesh. They remain there for two to three hours, during which they interview 20 to 30 people. The paralegals present the information they have gathered to the District Legal Aid Committee or a panel lawyer from one of the four NGOs supporting the project (BRAC, Bangladesh Legal Aid & Services Trust (BLAST), RDRS-Bangladesh and Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA) and request appropriate action. The data is also given to the Case Coordination Committees formed under the project, which meet once a month under the joint chairmanship of the District and Sessions Judge and the Deputy Commissioner. Representatives of all relevant stakeholders (judges, magistrates, administration, police, public prosecutor, bar association, Department of Women and Children Affairs, Department of Social Welfare, Department of Narcotics Control, partner NGOs, and civil society) attend the meeting and attempt to resolve long pending cases expeditiously and find local solutions to local problems related to the prison population and the case backlog. The paralegals also conduct Paralegal Aid Clinics inside the prisons to educate prisoners so they can use knowledge of the legal system in their own cases. Topics covered include bail, court manners, guilty plea, government legal aid, different stages of the judicial process, compoundable cases, arrest, and sentencing. The information is conveyed by way of theatre – with prisoners themselves playing the role of lawyers and magistrates – and through songs, a number of which were written by the paralegals themselves. In police stations, paralegals provide support to arrestees, helping them to understand the procedures and their options. They identify cases that can be diverted out of the system and resolved through a restorative justice conference in the community. Outside the courts, they inform prisoners and family members of the court setup and procedures, take steps to ensure that witnesses appear at the right time, and arrange surety for prisoners who have been granted bail. They follow up individual cases from the prisons, courts and police stations. One of the reasons that the prison population is so high is that petty cases, such as theft, vandalism, and drugs clog the system. One highly effective means of diverting people out of the criminal justice system and away from prison is restorative justice, which brings offender and victim together in a dialogue, helping them to understand each other. Such a conversation, guided by a trained mediator, often ends with an agreement between victim and perpetrator on compensation or restitution, thus closing the circle with healing instead of antagonism and punishment. Restorative justice builds on mediation, which has a long tradition in Bangladesh. The Madaripur Mediation Model, developed by the Madaripur Legal Aid Association, is widely used all over the country and also outside Bangladesh. IRSOP project, working with its partners at the local level – Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA), Light House, Agragati Sangstha and RDRS-Bangladesh has already trained people from the community with extensive mediation experience as restorative justice master trainers. Competency-based skill development, vocational training and employment opportunities are ways of offering prisoners a chance to reintegrate into society and to close the ‘revolving door’ of recidivism. Dhaka Ahsania Mission is providing drug treatment and skill training inside and outside the prisons, before and after release. There are too many prisoners, and they are in prison for too long, often for petty crimes. Even if they are eventually released, they have little chance of rebuilding their lives. Many face homelessness, health problems, or drug addiction upon release. IRSOP wants to help them to get a second chance everyone deserves. .