AGENDA ITEM FIVE

The Ways and Means to Enhance the Rehabilitation Function of Corrections

Vitaya Suriyawong

Director, Planning Division, Department of Corrections, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand.

 

Abstract

 

Correctional systems in most countries have a range of non-custodial treatments. The Thai correctional authority has occasionally used the Royal King's Pardon, parole, and sentence remission to reduce the overcrowding situation and to be an incentive for improving inmate behavior. However, these measures have not been widely implemented because of some practical issues, leaving the overcrowding situation in prisons unresolved. This paper aims to discuss issues that hamper the wider implementation of non-custodial treatment in Thailand and to suggest some possible solutions, which may assist in easing the overcrowding situation. Resulting decreases in inmate numbers would enable the correctional systems to function more effectively.

Although the issue of restorative justice has become more recognized internationally, particularly in western society, in Thailand, the restorative justice approach is relatively new and further education is required to inform people involved in the criminal justice system. Nevertheless, this paper suggests Conferencing as a possible implication of a restorative justice approach in the Thai correctional system. The inclusion of a Conferencing as a supplement in the criteria for granting parole or sentence remission may assist inmates to realize the implications of their past crimes and to discourage them from committing further crimes when they are released. It is hope that the victims will feel relieved and reduce the fear of reprisal from the offenders. This restorative justice would in turn provide a safer community.