Having gained notoriety over the thriving inmates-officials’ nexus, smuggling of banned substances, and violence; the Colvale Correctional Jail is set to witness a sea change. To begin with, the jail officials have been asked to maintain discipline.
The new Inspector General of Prisons Bosco George (IPS-AGMUT) has warned to not spare errant staff. “Indiscipline will not be tolerated. Any jail staff caught in any act of indiscipline will be dealt with an iron hand,” George said while speaking to The Goan on Friday.
Less than a week after taking the charge from his predecessor Venancio Furtado, the senior police officer on Thursday interacted with his staff from the rank of the guard to the Superintendent making his point straight about the functioning of the jail. “Discipline is important. I have conveyed to my staff at Colvale Jail that there will be a zero-tolerance policy to departmental indiscipline,” he said.
The prison officials are also directed to be on maximum alert to thwart attempts to smuggle prohibited materials such as drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or mobile phones and SIM cards inside the high-security jail. “There have been many such cases in the past. Immediate action will be initiated against the staff concerned if these instances re-occur,” George warned.
Quite a few instances in the past time and again left the jail authorities red-faced while exposing flaws in the system.
The IGP has further mooted the idea to install a baggage scanner to do away with physical frisking of belongings and the kitchen stock before it proceeds in the premises. George said he will submit a proposal to the Director General of Police Jaspal Singh requesting to allot one of the five baggage scanners for Colvale Jail. “The scanner will detect if any banned articles are sneaked inside the jail,” he said. The frisking of staff and inmates will be further strengthened.
To ensure that mobile phones are not misused, the department will soon ban its officials posted in Jail from using the device. A proposal is being drafted to allow professional walkie-talkies for communication among the officials on duty. “They will have to compulsorily surrender their mobile phones at a common point before joining their duty for the day,” he said explaining the move will by and large curtail the use of phones in the cells.
The officer has also proposed introducing a reward system for the staff to enhance their work; and introducing dairy farming, a training centre for inmates, and yoga which was proposed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant during his visit to the jail in September.
As one of the measures to boost the morale of the staff, the IPS officer has approved Shoulder Badges on the uniform, which was never a thing before.
Unhappy over the Colvale Jail’s overall functioning and lack of facilities during a surprise inspection, CM Sawant in September decided on a major overhaul by including Goa Police to handle its security apparatus.
