For a long period, jails in China have mostly been located in the remote countryside, creating problems such as inconvenience for visitors, lack of variety in daily work and community service. Recently, an official with the Ministry of Justice said that, in a major policy adjustment new jails will be located in outer suburbs of cities.
Guo Jian'an, director of the ministry's Crime-Prevention Research Institute, said, "In the past, based on the guiding principle of social stability, character transformation through labor and 'don’t scramble for favored locations with civilians,' most jails were built in the remote countryside, usually far from cities and with difficult access. In recent years, the adverse effects of such remote geographic location have gradually emerged. For one, it increases the difficulties for social organizations to get involved in the transformation of prisoners. Then, too, the backward nature of community services leads to many inconvenience in the prisoners’ daily life, jail management staff and their families. What's more, it also results in difficulties for the prisoner's family members to make regular visits."
The jails located in out-of-the-way areas will be relocated to the outer districts of medium and large cities step by step through concrete planning in a modern way.
The adjustment could provide more opportunities for various social organizations to intervene actively in reclaiming prisoners. Those prisoners who are enthusiastic about knowledge and gaining skills can be ensured more opportunities for self-study.
According to Director Guo's introduction, in recent years, the central government has reinforced both the soft and hard aspects of jails, with an emphasis on improving their environment and providing vocational training. Every year, 1.5 billion yuan (US$181 million) are injected into the justice system from the national finances, of which 700 million yuan (US$85 million) are used in jails. About 3,000 yuan (US$362) are spent on each prisoner annually.
Guo said the adjustment of the penal system embodies the national principle of education first in regard to prisoners, to help them re-adapt to public life. At same time, many local justice departments are attempting to carry out new management methods such as providing training and finding jobs, and expanding the portion of time spent on parole. For example, a jail in Shanghai has chosen three prisoners with a good behavior record in the prison for an experiment in "working outside during the week and returning to jail at the weekend."
(china.org.cn by Wang Zhiyong, August 22, 2002)
