SEVERAL of Fiji’s major correctional facilities are operating beyond their approved capacities as the national prison population reaches about 2200 inmates, says Fiji Corrections Service Acting Commissioner Auta Moceisuva.
In an interview with the The Fiji Times online portal The Lens@177, Mr Moceisuva said while some prisons were overcrowded, others remained below capacity, allowing the Fiji Corrections Service to redistribute inmates across its 16 facilities.
“Each facility has an approved capacity,” he said.
“So, now if you look at the 2200 that is there today, some of the facilities are overcrowded.
“Others are below the approved capacity.”
He said Suva Prison, which had an approved capacity of 272 inmates, was now accommodating around 340 prisoners, while the Suva Remand Centre, built to house 200 inmates, was holding close to 300.
“In Lautoka, the convicted segment, there are two facilities in Lautoka. One is the remand, the convicted segment is also overcrowded.
“But when you look at the smaller prisons like Taveuni or in Levuka, these prisons have a low capacity.
“And likewise in Naboro Maximum is supposed to have 60, it’s already over capacity.”
Despite the pressures, Mr Moceisuva said the overall prison population was not yet at an alarming level because inmates were regularly transferred between facilities.
“So, generally when you look at the whole population of the Correctional Service, 2200, it may be a big number.
“But 20 years ago, the number of prisoners in prison hovered around 800 to 1000.
“So, it’s not an alarm at the moment. Because I think we decongest the population as they grow.
“We shift around the population to the 16 facilities to cushion off the pressures of holding a big number of prisoners in the prisons.”
