Concept of Open Prisons, their main characteristics, and Indian Scenario : A Review

Abstract

Open prisons are ‘minimum security’ devices for inmates to rehabilitate them in society after final release. In India, they are popularly called as open Jails. The concept of Open prisons was first developed in U.K in the 1930s and was based on the idea of ‘carrots’ rather than ‘sticks’. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, popularly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, laid down the objectives of open prisons stating, that such prisons provide no physical security against escape but rely on the self-discipline of the inmates, provide the conditions most favorable to the rehabilitation of carefully selected prisoners.