Many people through the world are deeply alarmed and worried on the growing number of people held in prison.

This according to them emanates from growing incidence of crime in various communities.

In fact, a report from world prison population office published by United Kingdom Home office agrees that there are well over nine million people held in penal institutions worldwide.

To the prisoners, they feel vulnerable and impotent and concerned that governments are not adequately responding to their concerns.

In fact, this analogy may also apply to the way in which the society treats those who are imprisoned.

The point is how many of us think of prisoners as enemies or as citizens? Do we see them as hostile, dangerous and irredeemable, or do we see them as misguided, socially fractured human beings, who with the right professional care and a commitment on their part can be re-integrated into the society to lead responsible and fruitful lives?

This, in fact, calls for new ideas by seeing prison as a place where the deprivation and the cruelty is minimised and where prisoners are held securely but seen as citizens, with the right to express their ultruism and their humanity. This is considered necessary by making the prison become a place where the emphasis is on the chance for the prisoner to make his or her peace with the society through restitution and restoration.

For many, though, prisoners are pariah figures that have damaged the society in some way and should have damaged the society in some way and should be incarcerated and forgotten about for the term of be incarcerated and forgotten about for the term of their imprisonment.

It is true that we cannot overlook or ignore the damage to life and property that some convicted criminals have perpetrated.

The physical and psychological suffering endured by the victims of crime is reprehensible.

Yet, in any civilised society the idea of restitution, of allowing those who have offended to redeem  themselves in the eyes of the community is import  for the development of the social fabric.

This is done to embrace the idea of a collective forgiveness and recognition that none of us is  perfect.

This reminds us of the word of Christ that “let  he or she who is without sin cast the first stone.”

According to Director of International  Centre for  Prison Studies, Professor Andrew Coyle, levels of  imprisonment rarely have anything to do with levels of crime.

According to him, over the years, we have allowed criminal justice to expand into areas where it has no locus.

In April 1999, a total of 120 people from coun tries met in Egham, Surrey United Kingdom to discuss  a new approach for penal reform. The conference, which focused on the role of the criminal justice system and in particular the prison the criminal justice system and in particular the prison in a civil and democratic society, agreed that criminal justice system are in need of reform and that  prison system all over the world are in crisis.

Today, as it is,  the total number of prisoners have been dramatically inflated by the use of imprisonment in an attempt to deal with the problem of the use of drug  in  the society.

Ironically, similar percentages of prisoners continue to use illegal drugs while in prison.

Again, vulnerable groups such as women, children,  juveniles, mentally and terminally ill prisoners, the dis- abled, the aged, ethnic and religious minorities, forabled, the aged, ethnic and religious minorities,  re ceive the special attention they need.

The development of democracy  and states of the world, it is believed, should offer a new challenge to management of prisons and prisoners worldwide.

This, in fact, calls for duty of care by the  government and the use of Non-Governmental organisations by making prisoners to be corrigible.

This is to be in remembrance of President Obama’s  speech that all is born free, all are equal and all all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of  happiness.

Omah resides in Port Harcourt. Omah resides in Port Harcourt.

Obed Omah