New System Proposed to Monitor Minor Offenders at Home Instead of Imprisoning Them

21-Oct-2026

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The Government plans to introduce a new system under which selected suspects arrested by the police in connection with drug-related and other minor offences and produced before court could be placed under home-based monitoring instead of being remanded in prison, Prisons Department media spokesperson Senaka Pallathenna has said.

Speaking to the media on the matter, he said that under the proposed system, an electronic chip would be fitted to the suspect to facilitate monitoring.

The initiative was being considered in view of the severe overcrowding in prisons, he said, adding that the Prisons Department, the Ministry of Justice and the police were expected to work together to implement the scheme.

He also said that, rather than increasing the number of prisons, the Government was focusing on relocating existing prisons and developing facilities that met international standards.

The Commissioner further stated that the Prisons Department had taken temporary charge of Bogambara Prison and that arrangements would be made to hand it over at the earliest opportunity.