Africa-Press – Namibia. POLICE inspector general Joseph Shikongo has urged Namibians to help their trial-awaiting friends and family pay bail.
POLICE inspector general Joseph Shikongo has urged Namibians to help their trial-awaiting friends and family pay bail.
This is to reduce the overcrowding of police holding cells.
“Namibians should try to assist the police, because we have some people who go to court, get bail, and then we find the family saying, we are not going to pay that person’s bail, we are tired of him or her.
“That is the situation – people want to disown their own people. So we are encouraging the families of trial awaiting prisoners who have appeared in court and have been granted bail to bail them out,” Shikongo says.
He says Namibians should be more responsible and should not participate in criminal activities, because this contributes to the increase of inmates in police holding cells.
“And then again, Namibians who frequently go to the cells must change their attitudes, because you find somebody who got bail last month, and then another month he is back in the cells. That is the challenge,” he says.
Shikongo says overcrowding is nothing new.
“For instance: The Wanaheda Police Station has a capacity of 150, but sometimes it goes beyond that. You could find 170 to 180, or sometimes even 200 inmates,” he says.
The police are managing the situation though, Shikongo says.
“There are directives to all regional commanders and the head of investigation in the regions to keep monitoring the number of prisoners or prison-awaiting people.
“They should ensure that those who have minor cases are either summoned to court or are released on a warning if possible. That is a way to reduce the number of trial-awaiting prisoners,” he says.
The police are considering alternative spaces for keeping trial-awaiting prisoners.
“In many countries trial-awaiting prisoners are not supposed to be kept by the police. That is what we are trying to engage various stakeholders on finding a solution.
“In many countries, during the person’s first court appearance he or she is remanded, but is supposed to be taken care of by another institution, by other entities.
“We believe we will find some solutions, because that also requires the inclusion of law-makers to adjust the relevant laws to allow remanded prisoners to be moved somewhere else, but we have not concluded that yet,” Shikongo says.
Asked about trial-awaiting prisoners’ diets, he says: “If somebody has specific needs they always manage it. We listen to them.”
This is to reduce the overcrowding of police holding cells.
“Namibians should try to assist the police, because we have some people who go to court, get bail, and then we find the family saying, we are not going to pay that person’s bail, we are tired of him or her.
“That is the situation – people want to disown their own people. So we are encouraging the families of trial awaiting prisoners who have appeared in court and have been granted bail to bail them out,” Shikongo says.
He says Namibians should be more responsible and should not participate in criminal activities, because this contributes to the increase of inmates in police holding cells.
“And then again, Namibians who frequently go to the cells must change their attitudes, because you find somebody who got bail last month, and then another month he is back in the cells. That is the challenge,” he says.
Shikongo says overcrowding is nothing new.
“For instance: The Wanaheda Police Station has a capacity of 150, but sometimes it goes beyond that. You could find 170 to 180, or sometimes even 200 inmates,” he says.
The police are managing the situation though, Shikongo says.
“There are directives to all regional commanders and the head of investigation in the regions to keep monitoring the number of prisoners or prison-awaiting people.
“They should ensure that those who have minor cases are either summoned to court or are released on a warning if possible. That is a way to reduce the number of trial-awaiting prisoners,” he says.
The police are considering alternative spaces for keeping trial-awaiting prisoners.
“In many countries trial-awaiting prisoners are not supposed to be kept by the police. That is what we are trying to engage various stakeholders on finding a solution.
“In many countries, during the person’s first court appearance he or she is remanded, but is supposed to be taken care of by another institution, by other entities.
“We believe we will find some solutions, because that also requires the inclusion of law-makers to adjust the relevant laws to allow remanded prisoners to be moved somewhere else, but we have not concluded that yet,” Shikongo says.
Asked about trial-awaiting prisoners’ diets, he says: “If somebody has specific needs they always manage it. We listen to them.”
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