NCJ Number
215952
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2006 Pages: 18-20
Date Published
July 2006
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the prison system of the Kingdom of Tonga.
Abstract
Described as “prison in paradise,” the correctional service of Tonga relies heavily on Christian morals and teachings in the handling and care of inmates. Two other management tools are identified as: (1) leading by example, which means prison officers must lead decent lives as an example to prisoners, and (2) the reward system, which rewards inmates for good behavior with nightly privileges. Privileges include watching television, watching a video, or drinking kava with or without members from the community. The entire prison population is comprised of 83 staff members and 128 inmates who are housed in 5 correctional facilities located on each of the 5 large islands of the Kingdom. Professional inmate assessment and classification does not occur; career training and inmate work generally consists of vegetable and root-crop farming, animal farming, arts and crafts, carpentry and joinery, motor mechanic engineering, and welding. Inmates are rarely required to be in their cells and, in fact, are given opportunities every evening to socialize with community members or staff. During 2004, the Kingdom of Tonga’s Prison Act was overhauled with the help of Australian foreign aid to ensure that the new regulations were consistent with the United Nations Minimum Standards and other foreign laws applicable in Tonga. The author notes that the slight increase in crime in recent years has stressed an already overcrowded prison system in Tonga that is in need of housing improvements and new inmate programming. It is hoped, however, that Tonga’s unique approach to corrections will not be replaced by modern and more traditional approaches to corrections, especially considering the success of the current model in ensuring good inmate behavior. Endnotes