BICOL COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Cor. J. P. Rizal & R. F. Tabuena St.
Daraga, Albay
“A Case study about Polices and Practices that violate
detainees human rights and health care crisis behind jails.”
MANGAMPO, ALBERT P.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CRIMINOLOGY
Introduction
This case study is going to focus on Polices and Practices that violate Detainess Human
rights and health care crisis behind jails A new era in corrections was born in Elmira,
New York, on July, 24 1876, when thirty inmates were transferred from Auburn Prison
to Elmira Reformatory. It is the world's first adult reformatory for offenders ranging in
age from 16-30 years old and was built as an alternative to the Auburn and Pennsylvania
systems. When the Elmira Reformatory opened, it rejected nineteenth-century
penology's ideals of silence, obedience, and labor. Elmira's goal would be to reform the
convict—its methods would be psychological rather than physical. Instead of coercing
with the lash, Elmira would encourage with rewards, and mass regimentation would
yield to classification and individualized treatment. Instead of fixed sentences to fit the
crime, the indeterminate sentence would be adjustable to fit the criminal.
The Philippine Government established its own national standards in reviewing its
correctional system for prisoners/detainees administered by the Department of Justice,
the Bureau of Corrections and Bureau of Jails Management and Penology (BJMP) of the
Department of Interior and Local Government. This correctional system consists of
rehabilitation, and organized care and treatment program aimed at the promotion of the
dignity of the confined persons in particular and the correctional community in general.
The Philippine Correction System is composed of the organizations in the government,
the business division involved in the confinement, civil society, correction and
restoration of persons charged for/or convicted of delinquent acts of crimes. The public
sectors formulates polices and rules on correction, penology and jail management,
rehabilitation and restoration. All prisons or penitentiaries, jails and detention centre’s
are under the direct control and supervision of the government. The government plays a
dominant role in the correction and rehabilitation of offenders.
In the Philippines correctional inmate convicted from their delinquent act shall be
charged into custody and rehabilitation with the Bureau of Correction (BuCor) to serve a
sentence in national prison. They are kept from committing crimes while in custody,
provide them with basic needs and implementing a variety of rehabilitation programs,
engaged agro-industrial projects, developing and employing inmate manpower skills and
labor, providing source of income and augmenting the Bureau’s yearly appropriation.
When correctional inmates are discharged, they should be able to live an independent
life negated of crime. Not only that they should be able to contribute towards the
development of the society
Background
Jail is a correctional institution to used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody
of the government. This includes either accused persons awaiting trial or for those who
have convicted of a crime. Jails are generally small prisons run by individual countries
and cities, though some jails in larger communities may be a large and hold as many
inmates as regular prisons. Jail is also a synonym for prison, especially when the facility
is of a similar size as a prison. As with prisons, some jails have different wings for
certain types of offenders, and have work programs for inmates who demonstrate good
behavior.
Prison policy was driven for much of that 20th century by a hope that the staff in
the environment would rehabilitate prisoners and fit them for a more productive life on
release. In the 1970s a series of studies showed that this aim was not being achieved, and
it become clear that stop were disillusioned with the concept. Rehabilitation is not now
sought as an active in a course of a prison sentence although limited facilities are made
available to prisoners, For example, to gain education, where the overcrowding of the
system does not make it possible.
The Elmira System tackles the different standards of correctional systems. The Elmira
system classified and separated various types of prisoners, gave them individualized
treatment emphasizing vocational training and industrial employment, used
indeterminate sentences, etc. It is also mentioned in other context that the core of this
program--classification with gradations of freedom and privilege, along with an
emphasis on development of the whole person, physical, intellectual and spiritual
remains the basis of modern corrections.
Furthermore, this case study on the detainees human rights and health crisis was founded
mainly to identify the situation of the detainees and the correctional institution in
general. It also aims to dig into details what are the different hindrances and difficulties
faced by the detainees while in detention, which cover education services, spiritual
development, livelihood opportunity, enhancement and other welfare services inclusive
of health and medical provisions, is also tackled in this study. And since one of the
purposes of this research study is to educate the reader on the situation of polices and
practices that violates detainees human rights, this may be beneficial to the agency when
the community and the Local Government Unit might extend generous assistance in
enhancing the well-being of the inmates/detainees.
A lot of challenges will be encountered when the case in point is approaching for the
prisoners to be liberated from imprisonment. For some inmates it is an exhilarating
occurrence of their lives because they are finally going to get their freedom back, but for
others, it is a hectic period since they do not know what life would be like in free society
after having spent many years behind bars.
Several of these stressful challenges in prisoners come to mind on committing their
freedoms:
Unemployment
Previous to their imprisonment, some of the prisoners engaged in criminal activities in
order to survive since they had no employable skills.
It is difficult to get a job in the Philippines if you have a criminal record. When prisoners
cannot obtain any skills training inside the penitentiary, it could pose a serious challenge
after released.
Living the life of a vagrant
It is a real serious problem for some prisoners when we talk about without a roof over
your head. Not all of the prisoners have a place to call a home or no permanent address
and led street lives engaging in various criminal activities. Getting discharged from
imprisonment and returning to become a homeless person again is frightening to some
of them.
Financial Assistance
When finally discharged, surely the first thing a prisoner will do is to go back to his/her
place and it is difficult for them to start a new life without cash on hand or any
assistance, how can they survive without money, reaching their destination and finding
somewhere to stay without resorting to crime again?
Social Needs
Deprivation of liberty during imprisonment is one of the worst punishments.
Belongingness and attention are important to prisoners; lost of contact and long period
of imprisonment in correctional facilities far from their families and friends are crucial
for them. Longing for the love of their families, the possibility of break-up relationship
could cost prisoners serious implication for the social reintegration.
References:
SAGE JOURNALS.SAGEPUB.COM
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093854897024001001
Steadman, H. J. , Barbera, S. S. , & Dennis, D. L. (1994). A national survey of jail
mental health diversion programs. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 45, 1109-
1113.
Steadman, H. J. , Morris, S. M. , & Dennis, D. L. (1995). The diversion of
mentally ill persons from jails to community-based services: A profile of
programs. American Journal of Public Health, 85(12), 1630-1635.
