As part of its top-to-bottom legal reform effort, the Saudi government is looking at alternatives to the current system of jailing offenders. Now, if one is picked up by the police, it’s very uncertain exactly how one will be treated. People can stay in jail for long periods of time awaiting trial. Worse, even after having served a sentence, one can remain in jail because the bureaucracy doesn’t know what to do. Then there’s the problem of putting young miscreants in the same jails as older ones, in effect, turning jails into a school for scoundrels.

This Arab News article discusses some of the options being discussed, ranging from the offering of bail pre-trial to directing community service instead of jail time. The article notes that there is often too high a price paid for being sent to jail, socially and economically. That’s perhaps so, but neither should law breakers be excused from the responsibility and consequences of their actions. The issue needs a watchful eye.

New jail system aims to reform accused
P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News

JEDDAH: Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Harithy, director general of prisons, said yesterday that a plan was under way to introduce alternatives to imprisonment, including parole and posting bail. The Interior Ministry would soon make public the rules and regulations of the new system, he added.

“The move is not aimed at reducing the pressure in Saudi jails,” Al-Harithy said in comments published in an Arabic daily. “Our objective is much nobler and greater than that. We want to put in jail only those who deserve it.”

Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Asheikh also spoke about alternative punishments recently. “We have already distributed questionnaires among judges to elicit their opinions and proposals on alternative punishments. Many judges favor the idea saying it would contribute to reforming the accused,” the minister said.

There are 104 prisons and 12 reformatories across the Kingdom, the Arabic daily said, adding that about 32,000 of 44,600 inmates in Saudi jails are foreigners. Nearly 4,000 youngsters aged between 12 and 18 are living in reformatories. Fifteen committees have been set up to look after the families of prisoners. The prisons chief said the bylaw of the new system is being prepared carefully with the participation of different agencies in the light of the best practices in developed countries. The alternatives include releasing suspects on bail.
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