ABSTRACT

Most offenders face significant social adaptation issues, which can include family and
community stigmatization and ostracism, and the ensuing negative impact on their ability to find
jobs or housing, return to formal education or build (or rebuild) individual and social capital.
Unless they receive help to face these issues, they risk getting caught up in a vicious cycle of
failed social integration, reoffending, reconviction and social rejection. The rehabilitation of
offenders and their successful social reintegration into society should therefore be among the
basic objectives of criminal justice systems. Legally binding international human rights
conventions,3 as well as the United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and
criminal justice, clearly acknowledge this point and emphasize the importance of interventions to
support the social reintegration of offenders as a means of preventing further crime and
protecting society.4 For example, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules)—the most important and recent set of
international standards on what is generally accepted as being good principles and practice in the
treatment of prisoners and prison management—clearly establish that the provision of
meaningful rehabilitation programme’s in prisons is crucial to achieving the ultimate purposes of
a sentence of imprisonment, namely to reduce recidivism and to improve public safety. The
Nelson Mandela Rules also emphasize that education, vocational training, work, treatment and
other forms of assistance, in line with the individual treatment needs of offenders, should be
offered by prison administrations and other competent authorities to support the social
reintegration of prisoners into society .

INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE

Social reintegration can be understood as the support given to offenders during re-entry into
society following imprisonment. A broader definition, however, encompasses the period starting
from prosecution to release and post-release support. In this latter sense, social reintegration of
offenders includes efforts undertaken following arrest, to divert them away from the criminal
justice system to an alternative measure, including a restorative justice process or suitable
treatment. It includes imposing alternative sanctions instead of imprisonment, where appropriate,
and thereby facilitating the social reintegration of offenders within the community, rather than by
subjecting them to the de-socializing and harmful effects of prison unnecessarily. In addition,
some of the measures imposed may include a condition to undergo treatment for an addiction,
while others may include referral to an educational or personal development centre, or oblige
offenders to undertake unpaid work beneficial to the community, on the understanding that, as
well as being penalized, they are acknowledging and repaying the damage they have caused to
the community by committing an offence. For those who are sentenced to imprisonment, it
includes social rehabilitation in prison, which should start on the first day of sentence and
continue into the post-release period. A range of rules included in international instruments
relating to imprisonment is based on this understanding. The International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights states that the essential principle of the treatment of prisoners shall be their
reformation and social rehabilitation (Art 10, 3). UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment
of Prisoners make it very clear that the purpose and justification of a sentence of imprisonment is
ultimately to protect society against crime, and that this end can only be achieved if the period of
imprisonment is used to ensure, so far as possible, that upon returning to society the offender is
not only willing but able to lead a lawabiding and self-supporting life (SMR, R.58). The guiding
principles are set down in the second part of the SMR (R.56-64) and span the issues of security,
classification, care and resettlement. Social reintegration in the prison setting refers to assisting
with the moral, vocational and educational development of the imprisoned individual via
working practices, educational, cultural, and recreational activities available in prison. It includes
addressing the special needs of offenders, with programmes covering a range of problems, such
as substance addiction, mental or psychological conditions, anger and aggression, among others,
which may have led to offending behaviour. Reintegration encompasses the prison environment,
the degree to which staff engage with and seek the cooperation of individual prisoners, the
measures taken to encourage and promote contact with family, friends and the community, to
which almost all prisoners will one day return. It also refers to opportunities provided for
prisoners’ gradual re-entry into society, such as furloughs (home leave) and half–way houses.
Post release reintegration refers to conditional release (parole), which is a measure designed to
enable offenders’ planned and gradual transition from prison to life outside. It also includes all
social, psychological and other support provided to former prisoners after release by various
agencies and organizations. Social reintegration is not an issue that can be resolved by legislation
and institutions alone, however. The families of offenders, their immediate circle of friends, and
the community have a fundamental role to play in assisting the offenders' return to society and
supporting ex-offenders in rebuilding their lives. Research indicates that having strong family
support is one of the most important factors contributing to successful rehabilitation, together
with gaining steady employment. Successful treatment for drug addiction and desistance from
returning to former drug circles is another key issue for many, and here family support is crucial.
Probation services, where they exist, or similar bodies, have a key function in all of these areas –
helping ex-offenders rebuild their relationships with their families, with finding a job,
encouraging professional treatment for problems such as drug addiction and in general enabling
a positive life strategy. But success, to a large extent, depends on community support; and in
countries where a Social Reintegration probation service does not exist (which will be in a
majority of cases in developing countries) the role of other organizations of civil society is
central. Unfortunately, due to factors that include lack of resources, prison overcrowding, and
inadequate attention given to the post-release needs of ex-offenders, the social reintegration
needs of offenders are often a low priority in practice. In prisons, the resources that are available
are typically used to improve security, safety and order, rather than investing in prison
workshops, skills training, educational facilities, sports and recreation in the mistaken belief that
security can be achieved by using more restrictions and disciplinary measures rather than by
improving the prison environment, providing constructive occupation for prisoners, and
encouraging positive relations between staff and prisoners. Governments do not typically place a
high priority on assisting prisoners with post-release care either. In fact, in some countries former
prisoners confront new restrictions to employment and education due to their criminal record
upon release, hindering the process of reintegration significantly and contributing to re-
offending. Another problem often encountered is the lack of coordination between pre-release
preparation in prisons with the services provided in the community. Finally, many countries lack
an overall reintegration strategy adopted by relevant authorities (e.g. Ministry of Justice, Health,
Employment, Social Services etc). Lack of resources invested in the social reintegration of
offenders leads to high rates of recidivism (re-offending), not only in countries where resources
are scarce, but also in the West. For example, according to the Scottish Prison Service in 2002,
48 percent of those released were back in custody within two years. Of that 48 percent, 52
percent were back in custody within six months and 76% returned within one year. In the United
States, 42 percent of offenders discharged from parole supervision were returned to incarceration
in 2000. The percentages are similar in many other countries worldwide, leading to the
conclusion that efforts to build a safer society must include the allocation of adequate human and
financial resources to the social reintegration of offenders and former prisoners.

REINTIGRATION STRATEGIES

A strategic approach to the development of offender reintegration policies and programmes

requires a thorough review of existing laws and policies. It is necessary to identify any legal or
regulatory obstacles that may prevent inter-agency cooperation or the provision of effective
supervision and assistance to offenders in prisons, as well as in the community. Various aspects
of existing legislation may require attention, including:

(a) Sentencing laws and policies. Criminal (penal) law and its sentencing dispositions have an
impact on who is sentenced to imprisonment, for how long and for what purpose. They will also
determine whether non-custodial sentences are possible and how frequently they can be used for
various categories of offender and types of crime;

(b) Police laws. Laws and policies regulating police agencies, setting their authority and
mandate, defining their governance structure and setting the overall parameters within which the
police function is exercised should also be scrutinized. These laws can be made more relevant to
the social reintegration of offenders by directing and enabling police officers and agencies to
collaborate with correctional agencies and community organizations in order to facilitate the
supervision and reintegration of offenders;

(c) Prison laws. The laws and regulations governing the administration of prisons will determine
in part the kind of reintegration programmes and interventions that are possible in prison;

(d) Probation laws. These are laws and policies governing the objectives, availability of
probation as a sentencing option, the conditions that are attached to a probation order and the
nature of the supervision that is offered to offenders placed on probation, as well as laws
establishing a probation service and its responsibilities;

(e) Juvenile justice laws. The reintegration of juvenile offenders deserves to be treated as a
priority. Existing juvenile justice laws must therefore be reviewed from the point of view of
whether they, for example, provide for alternatives to imprisonment, allow for diversion, ensure
that adequate programmes and education are provided to juveniles deprived of their liberty and
facilitate the early release and social reintegration of juvenile offenders;

(f) Privacy laws. Privacy protection (and access to information) laws and how they are applied
can facilitate or hinder information exchanges among the various agencies that need to work
together to support the reintegration of offenders;

(g) Laws and treaties relating to the international transfer of sentenced persons. Existing laws
and treaties may or may not facilitate the voluntary return of foreign offenders to their country of
nationality;

(h) Legal provisions related to diversion. Diversion programmes are crucial to the social
reintegration of offenders and can facilitate their early access to proper interventions. Existing
laws concerning the use of discretionary authority at various levels of the criminal. justice
system and the possibility of diverting offenders to non-criminal justice interventions often need
to be reviewed, clarified or strengthened;

(i) Legal provisions related to the administration of sentences. Sentence calculation, remission
and execution have an impact on the offender’s progress and eventual return to the community;

(j) Legal provisions related to conditional release. Laws and policies establishing various
conditional release and early release programmes, including eligibility, process, the
decisionmaking process, conditions, supervision and programme management, will determine
how often conditional or early release are used and to what extent they are designed to contribute
to the social reintegration of offenders. Where such legal provisions do not exist, they should be
developed as a matter of priority;

(k) Legal provisions related to eligibility to services. Various laws and regulations governing the
provision of various treatment, service and support schemes can affect offenders’ access to those
services. Obstacles to their access to services must be identified and removed. Laws and policies
regulating access to medical services and medication are often particularly relevant to the
situation of offenders upon their return to the community, in particular offenders with a major
illness, a mental illness or a substance abuse problem, as well as pregnant women and children.

REINTIGRATION IN INDIA

Prisons form part of the criminal justice system of a country, and confining criminals in
prisons is a primary form of punishment practised in almost all the countries. It is most
apparent that a regular prison system as such was not in existence in ancient India and the
prisons were only places of detention where an offender was detained until trial and
judgement and later for the execution. During the medieval period, law reveals that
imprisonment was not recognized as a form of punishment. However, in the medieval period
the regular jails for confining convicts existed. Mostly the forts were used as prisons. The
prison system as it operates today in our country is a legacy of the British rule. The institution
of prisons and its allied subjects owe their origin to the British model and were introduced as
part of the British administration. The conditions of prison were extremely terrible and
inhuman. It was Lord Macaulay who drew the attention of the government towards the awful
conditions of prisons, and on his suggestions a committee was appointed in 1836 to look into
the conditions of Indian jails and report thereon.

Subsequently various committees and commissions were appointed for prison reforms. The
second commission of prison reforms was appointed in 1864. In 1870 the Government of
India passed Prisoners Act, to amend the law relating to prisoners in the country. The third
All India Jail Committee was appointed in 1877. In 1888 the fourth committee was appointed
on an all India basis. The fifth All India Committee was appointed in 1892 which led to the
passing of Prisons Act of 1894. The Act streamlines a general and uniform footing of prison
administration throughout the country. It is the Prisons Act, 1894, on the basis of which the
present jail management and administration operates in India.

In 1897 Reformatory Schools Act was passed, which is considered as a landmark in the
history of prisons reforms movement in British India. The Prisoner’s Act of 1900 was passed
to consolidate the law relating to prisoners and confined by order of court. The sixth All India
Jails Committee was set up in 1919 that submitted a comprehensive report in 1920. The report
stated for establishment of separate institutions for juvenile delinquents, segregation and
classification of convicts and rehabilitation of prisoners as a social necessity.

After independence, various committees were constituted apparently to achieve a certain

measure of humanization of prison conditions and the treatment of offenders on a scientific
footing. In 1951, the Government of India invited Dr W. C. Reckless to undertake a study on
prison administration and to suggest on prison reforms. All India Jail Manual Committee was
appointed in 1957 to examine the problems of prison administration and to make suggestions
for improvements to be adopted uniformly throughout India and to prepare a model prison
manual. In 1980 the Government of India constituted an All India Committee on Jail
popularly known as Mulla Committee. This report is stated as the pedestal of modern prison
system in India.

Indeed, the condition of modern prison system is far better than that in the past but still much
remains to be done in the direction of prison reforms for humane treatment of prisoners. It
reflects that life in an Indian prison is often intolerable with little scope for a productive
future. In spite of it the prisons across India endeavour to reform and reassimilate offenders in
the social milieu by giving them appropriate correctional treatment.

The assumption of restoration is that prisoners are not perpetually criminal and that it is
possible to restore prisoners as useful and socially productive. The present administration of
prisons in India is making an effort of restoring through education, industrial work, vocational
training and engaging in various activities. In addition, therapeutic methods, yoga, meditation,
vipassana, etc. are practised to bring a prisoner into a more peaceful state of mind or into an
attitude which would eradicate the craving, aversion and ignorance that are responsible for all
the miseries.

Inculcating ‘life skills’ or ‘survival skills’ enables the prisoners to become wholesome
members of the society. It can be stated that prisons in the country are doing their bid to help
inmates experience a better life inside, promoting activities or initiatives and preparing them
for the world outside. It would be pertinent to mention that five prisons across India are truly
restoring inmates. The Taloja Jail, Navi Mumbai, is offering inmates a chance to spend time
with their children and other loved ones without having a glass or wall separating them. The
Poojappura Central Prison in Thiruvananthapuram is offering many self-employment training
programmes. The training programmes include basics of computers, paper bag making,
beautician course and screen painting. The Central Prison in Kannur, Kerala, opened a beauty
parlour exclusively for men called Phoenix Freedom Expressions. The notorious Tihar Jail in
the nation’s capital has a small automotive manufacturing unit run by prison inmates which
provides them with the necessary training to acquire future employment opportunities. In
addition, the prison also hosts a restaurant for the public and it promotes bakery products,
handloom and textiles, furniture, pure mustard oil, apparel, recycled hand-made paper
products, paintings, designer candles and lamps, jute bags, herbal products and many more.
The prison store also makes cookies, pickles, potato chips and clothing, and the entire
operation is manned by inmates. The Balasore District Jail, Odisha, is hoping to implement an
organic farming venture and is planning to establish a site for organic farming.

On 29 September 2018, the Telangana Prisons Department organized ‘Job Mela 2018’ at the
State Institute of Correctional Administration. About 155 released prisoners have been
selected for employment in various positions such as marketing executive, drivers,
electricians, technicians, house-keeping, helpers and others. Such innovative programmes not
only transform the lives of inmates but also enable a better reintegration in the society.

To bring out everlasting transformation and to restore the prisoners’ holistic correction needs
to be explored and regularly evaluated. The preparation for restoration should begin from the
first day. For prisons to become meaningful correctional centers prisoners shall be informed
about the mission of correctional centre. An enabling environment must be skillfully crated
and sustained by prison management for proper restoration.

A seminar on ‘Prison Reforms’ was organized by National Human Rights Commission in

collaboration with National Institute of Criminology and Forensics Sciences on 14 September
2000, and in their recommendations they suggested that treatment of inmates should be
reformative and rehabilitative rather than retributive and deterrent.

It is indicative that prison system in India is providing the device that facilitates individual
recovery, whether direct or indirect, visible or invisible, conscious or subtle with greater
emphasis on the restoration of prisoners.
CONCLUSION

Prisons across the globe seem to have become warehouses of prisoners. If this trend continues
there would be a lot of repercussions. The role of prisons has radically changed over the years
and now they are no longer regarded as mere custodial institutions. In the contemporary era,
prisons are regarded as correctional centres with a philosophy of rehabilitation and
reintegration. Reintegration of a prisoner would not be possible without proper restoration
process. Restoration emerged as part of criminal justice in the last half century, mushrooming
to global prominence during the 1990s in domestic and international criminal justice settings.
The restoration architecture of prisoners is to begin the moment a prisoner is placed under the
authority of the prison officials. Restoration in custodial settings can contribute significantly
to proper adjustment and attitudinal change, reduce violence and reoffending and help
prisoners to overcome the evil effects of incarceration. Personal restoration of the prisoner as
an individual must be fostered through correctional interventions and development
programmes. The programmes at the institutional level should be need based. Hence
depending upon the situation it should be individualized or group based. Prisoners who
experience humane environment will be more willing and able to respond to rehabilitative
programmes. The restorative mechanisms should be developed in a way that they accelerate
the prisoner’s return to the community and hasten the full restoration through parole and
pardon. The journey of restoration enables to focus on future orientation, life skills,
encouraging positive rather than negative behaviour, levitating the prisoner back to the status
of a human being and aiding the prisoner’s reintegration into the community. Within prisons
the officials conduct a range of regular functions pertinent to administration, enforcement and
security. In addition, redemption and restoration must be the central motto. Prison officials
must see to it that prisoners use their time to re-engineer their minds. They must be able to
manage every type of conflict and make the entire prison environment conducive to proper
restoration of prisoners. Humanistic approach, positive relationships and zero victimization
would enable better humanizing restoration.
Prison populations have risen steadily across the globe in recent decades and the latest World
Prison Population List, 2016, reports that roughly about 11 million prisoners are officially
imprisoned worldwide. The unrelenting growth of prison population and rate of recidivism
across the globe and India raised concerns pertinent to effective and humane restoration of
prisoners. Effective and humane restoration would be possible only with combined effort of
prison administration and management, prisoners’ family members and the society. Ensuring
effective and humane prison environment that is in line with international and regional
standards for the treatment of prisoners is key to the establishment of fair and effective
restoration of prisoners. Perseverance is the only mantra for restoration of prisoners.