The capacity of inmates held in prisons across the island has exceeded by 290 per cent, Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya said.
Upuldeniya told the media that as of December 31, 2022, the capacity of inmates that can be held in prisons across Sri Lanka is 11,291, but the number of people detained during that period was 26,176.
Accordingly, the capacity of the inmates that can be held in the prisons has exceeded by 232%.
This was revealed in the “Performance Audit Report on Overcrowding Management in Prisons” released by the Auditor General’s Department recently.
The Commissioner General of Prisons pointed out that the situation has further worsened at present.
As per the Auditor General’s report, as of December 31, 2022, 53% of all inmates were imprisoned for drug offences.
In terms of sanitation, there is a shortage of 187 toilets in 27 prisons and 287 toilets require repair.
The report further reveals that the majority of the inmates are between 30 and 40 years old. (NewsWire)