LIT REVIEW: CRIME AND PRISON IN PK 1

Literature Review: Crime and Prison Settings in Pakistan

Aisham G. Khan

Forensic Psychology

Submitted to Dr. Amna Affan Butt

Institute of Psychology, Beaconhouse National University

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Introduction

In recent years, research on crime and prison settings in Pakistan has seen a sharp

increase. This is largely due to the increase in awareness of human rights and their violations,

along with a more sensitive understanding of mental health and the factors feeding into it. As a

result of the world becoming a more humanitarian place, countries, including Pakistan, are

forced to reform their jailing, bail, and rehabilitation systems. This requires in-depth research,

highlighting of all the flaws within the system, and then a massive overhaul of the entire system

from the ground up.

This paper looks at and critically analyses some of the research done, in hopes to portray

a holistic understanding of the current situation within Pakistani prisons, the mental health

infractions incurred, and what improvements can be made to better the criminal rehabilitation

setup. It will do so by categorizing research works and reports via theme, thereby presenting

their findings in a categorical and organized manner.

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Physical Health

Prisoners in Pakistan are at high risk for various illnesses, including Human

Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and AIDS. This is extensively

researched by the UNODC (2011) and the PMRC (2013), which showed that, largely due to

overcrowding and mishandling, these diseases are rampant in prison setups. Due to drug use,

rape, and sexual relations within prison, these tend to spread unchecked. Cases of these illnesses

also are reported more often in female prisons than male ones (UNODC, 2012).

The lack of healthcare facilities within prison settings also feed into the spread of disease,

as infected individuals fail to get appropriate treatment and hence become hosts for the spread of

disease. Due to this, the prison climate is constantly infected, with pregnant and new mothers,

sick individuals, and individuals generally vulnerable to disease all existing within the same

toxic environment.

Mental Health

Dawood, Khan and Rashid (2017) offer an in – depth research of the mental illnesses

prevalent within prison settings. Depression and neurotic illnesses are most common within such

environments, as are panic disorders, post traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety

disorder. Attention seeking disorder and sleep disorders are also seen.

Although female prisoners are more liable to struggle with such problems, and are more

likely to become suicidal (UNODC, 2012), male prisoners also struggle with depression and

borderline personality disorder (Aftab, Hashmi and Yousaf, 2014). Andersen et al. also reported
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that the incidence of psychiatric disorders in prisoners is related to the level of stress. Using the

Beck Depression Inventory, Aftab, Hashmi and Yousaf (2014) established that lower education

and a history of physical or sexual abuse both resulted in higher BDI scores, while a history of

childhood adversity increased tendency to become suicidal.

Female prisoners, meanwhile, have different stressors affecting their mental health.

Married women in prison, especially mothers, had the added stress of not being able to care for

their children and husbands, which caused tension and other physical and mental issues. Because

women are perceived as weak and subjugated, they often have to face stigmatization and

ostracization from their families, meaning they have no support system to fall back on while in

prison. The UNODC (2012) stated “Gender-specific stigma surrounding women's incarceration

adversely impacts women's health as well as their prospects to societal re-integration following

release.” They further established that the type of crime determined the type of illness, and

psychosomatic symptoms had the greatest correlation with type of crime committed (Zadeh and

Ahmed, 2012).

Policies and Infrastructure

Pakistani prisons are sub – par at best, with weak legislations enforcing barely kept laws.

“Prisons are often overcrowded, have limited access to healthcare, offer poor nutrition and have

high rates of airborne and blood borne diseases” (UNODC, 2012). They also offer no childcare

facilities for pregnant and new mothers, with drug management systems in infirmaries being

passable at best (PMRC, 2013). The UNODC report (2012) also analyzes and criticizes the

healthcare systems within prisons, with its barebones staff and terrible diagnostic and treatment
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facilities. No prison across Pakistan has mental healthcare professionals, let alone therapy centers

or a protocol in place for scheduled therapy for prisoners.

Furthermore, there are no checks and balances binding prison wardens and attendants to a

code of ethics. As a result, prisoners are treated brutally and tortured during their sentence

(International Crisis Group, 2011). There is also a severe dearth of parole and probation officers,

and no real setup for the rehabilitation of released prisoners. This results in an all-around

inefficient system of criminal justice and release.

Outdated laws and procedures, bad practices, oversights, all lead to long periods of

detention without trial, which results in overcrowding, due to which diseases spread.

Furthermore, due to corrupt jailers and difficulty getting to trial and bail as a result of officers

who rarely get people bail and to court on time, and often succumb to bribes, there is further

jamming within the system (Anwar and Shah, 2017).

Within the prison, prisoners’ rights are constantly violated; there are also no indoor games

or recreational facilities, and very few prisons have a TV. Vocational training, if present, is very

gendered, and offers narrow avenues for life after imprisonment. There are also no controls in

place for the rampant drug use, rape and sexual interactions occurring between inmates.

Furthermore, military detentions circumvent the justice system, allowing military

officials to carry out justice as they see fit, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and collective

justice. As a result, the civil justice system is undermined, and a scenario of quasi-tribunals, with

everyone holding power behaving as they see fit, begins to exist. This further violates prisoners'

rights and undermines the judicial process (ICG, 2011).

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Recommendations and Reforms

“If Pakistan’s prison system remains brutal, opaque and unaccountable, it will continue to

aggravate rather than help resolve the country’s major internal security challenges” (ICG, 2011).

To improve the system and reform the problematic practices in place, the ICG (2011) offered a

detailed report with reformative and structured steps. They recommend changes at every level,

from the government and legislations to the wardens and the prisoners themselves. The report

recommends penal reform and a criminal reform agenda on a governmental level, and stresses

upon the importance of separating high – level criminals from first time offenders and juveniles

to reduce risk of impressionable minds becoming inspired to commit more drastic crimes. The

report also stresses the need for accountability of prison staff, and recommends the updating and

enforcing of laws to maintain transparency. If staff pay and benefits are increased, this will

further lower their propensity to take bribes, and improve the quality of their work. Within the

legislative reforms, the report also highlights the need to allow for penalization of petty crimes

and first – time offenders that do not involve imprisonment. This prevents overcrowding and

allows for easier processing of criminals, leading to a smoother, more efficient system. The ICG

also mentions access to free legal aid for prisoners, and urges the Pakistani government to fund

NGOs providing this service until it can do so itself, thus giving prisoners, usually illiterate, at

least about legal proceedings, a source for legal counsel and a chance to plead their case.

Anwar and Shah (2017) meanwhile, stress upon the importance of diversified vocational

skills training, to help prisoners readjust and reassimilate into society more easily. They also

mention the importance of better healthcare facilities, medical and mental health professionals

(as mentioned by Dawood & Rashid (2017)). They further urge for increased federal budgets
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dedicated to prison improvement, from which a significant component will be allocated to the

health and nutrition section.

They stress upon the importance of the guarantee of fundamental rights to inmates'

children, as does the UNODC (2011). They urge for the establishment of reproductive healthcare

in prisons, and call for better, more diverse basic education and vocational training.
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References

Aftab, A., Hashmi, A., & Yousaf, Z. (2014). Prevalence of Depression among Male Prisoners at
an Urban Jail in Pakistan. Healthmed, 8(6), 699 - 704.

Anwar, Z., & Shah, S. (2017). WOMEN PRISON REFORMS IN PAKISTAN: A CASE STUDY
OF PESHAWAR PRISON (Ph.D). University of the Punjab.

Dawood, S., Khan, A., & Rashid, A. (2017). Psychological Disorders Among Prisoners in
Pakistan. Journal Of Pakistan Psychiatric Society, 14(1), 17 - 20.

International Crisis Group. (2011). REFORMING PAKISTAN’S PRISON SYSTEM. International

Crisis Group.

Pakistan Medical Research Council. (2013). Review of Health System in Prisons of Punjab,
Pakistan. Islamabad: Pakistan Medical Research Council.

Tahir, M., & Konstantinos, B. (2011). BULLYING AMONG PRISON INMATES IN

PAKISTAN: AN EXPLORATION OF THE PROBLEM. BALOCHISTAN
REVIEW, XXIV(1).

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2011). FEMALES BEHIND BARS: Situation and
Needs Assessment in Female Prisons and Barracks. Pakistan: UNODC.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2012). Tools and strategies for service providers
working with female prisoners. Islamabad: UNODC.

Zadeh, Z., & Ahmad, K. (2012). Mental Health Issues of Women Prisoners in Karachi
Pakistan. International Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 2(14), 310 - 318.