Various sectors of the government including justice, correctional services, health and social development, need to cooperate in finding sustainable alternatives to imprisonment as a response to crime.
The decriminalisation of petty offences, reformation of bail guidelines, increased access to legal representation, and a move toward non-custodial sentencing for non-violent offences, including diversion and restorative justice, and support for inmates and detainees re-entering their communities could all contribute to a reduction in the prison population.
The solution is social justice, not criminal justice.
(Source: Lancet Special Edition on HIV and related infections in prisoners)
