RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57

CRIME PREVENTION: CURRENT ISSUES IN CORRECTIONAL
TREATMENT AND EFFECTIVE COUNTERMEASURES
Sivakorn Kuratanavej*
II. ACTUAL SITUATION OF
OVERCROWDING

I. INTRODUCTION
When making the comparative study on
correction activity, one always firstly looks
at the imprisonment rate of each country
to overview the general situation. Looking
into the statistics of Thailand, one might
be astonished of the very high rate of
imprisonment, which is 1:270. In 1999,
there were 133 prisons and correctional
institutions all over the country, withtotally 10,909 correctional officials. The
prison population was 205,340 while thestandard capacity was only for 84,223
inmates. Overcrowding has become aproblem for the Thai correctional system
during this last decade, and the situation
continues aggressively. The effect ofovercrowding is not only on the inmate’s
daily living but also the official’s difficultyin operating of custodial measurement aswell as treatment programs for offenders.
*

Senior Penologist, Department of Corrections,ThailandA. Prison Population
During this last decade, prison
population in Thailand has been increasing
dramatically. In certain years, there wasa collective royal pardon related to an
important occasion of the country; someconvicted inmates were released. In 1994,
the number of inmates reached 103,329,
which was considered as very high. Fiveyears later, the number has doubled andreached 203,702 inmates. Even though
there was a collective royal pardon at theend of 1999, the prison population as ofMarch 2000 was 200,310 inmates. Table 1
shows prison population during these lastten years.
B. Main Causes of Prison
Overcrowdingi) The Increase of Drug Offenders:
There are various factors that leadto higher number of drug offenders

TABLE 1
Prison Population in Thailand

*

364

Year
Male
FemaleTotal
1991
81,9806,071
88,051
1992
68,097
5,212
73,309*1993
83,523
6,784
90,307
1994
94,776
8,553
103,329
1995
101,130
9,898
111,028
1996
92,353
10,849103,202*1997
109,885
16,070125,955
1998
141,131
23,320164,451
1999
172,620
32,720205,340
2000
165,485
34,825200,310*
In fiscal years 1992, 1996 and 2000, there were collective royal pardons.

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
that amphetamines (previously
considered as a legal stimulantdrug) were illegal drugs on thesame level as heroin. Punishment
for a possessor or seller ofamphetamine shall be as severeas that for heroin. The situation
has become catastrophic.
Amphetamines are easy to findand have widely spread among
various groups of people including
students and laborers.
Suppression has led to morearrests and more drug offenders
in prisons.

in Thai prisons.
-

The government’s policy on drug
suppression: The suppression
strategy is done by the demolishingof drug production sources and byarresting drug users and drug
dealers. The main sentence
imposed on drug offenders is
imprisonment. The more drugs aresuppressed, the higher the numberof drug offenders. In the past,offense against property was themost common offence in prisons,but since 1996, drug offenses havetopped other offense in Thai prisonsand have climbed up remarkably
fast as shown in Table 2.

-

The Public Health Drug
Definition: In 1996, the Ministryof Public Health has stipulated-

The Prime Minister’s Order on
Treatment of Drug Offenders: In
1998, the Office of the Prime
Minister has issued the orderconcerning the treatment of drug
offenders. It indicated that drug

TABLE 2Type of Offenders in Thai Prisons80,000
Offense Against
Property

Number of Offender

70,000

Offense Against
Narcotic Laws

60,00050,000

Offense Against
Life

40,000Bodily Harm
30,000Sex Offense

20,00010,000

Offense Against
Society Security0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Year*

OthersSee original report. This is not the as same as the original due to lack of the number
of offenders.

365

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
users should receive treatment
program while drug dealers
should receive severe punishment
and should not receive any lenient
treatment or commutative
pardon. The order has had adirect effect on drug dealers inprisons who shall have to spend
longer time in prison than otheroffenders.
Long-term
imprisonment is certainly one
main cause of overcrowding.
ii) The Incarceration of Unsentenced
Inmates: Among the total prison
population, 38.72 percent are inmates
awaiting investigation and inmates
awaiting trial. Generally, remandees
or unsentenced inmates areincarcerated in Remand Prison. As
for Provincial Prison, there must be
a separate section for remandees
which had previously been expected
as 10 percent of the total capacity.
However, at present the number ofremandees represents almost half ofthe total prison population. Most
prisons are overcrowded. Someprisons have to incarcerateunsentenced inmates together withconvicted prisoners due to the lack offacilities.
iii) The Frequent Use of Imprisonmentin Thai Criminal Justice System: In
Thailand, patterns of punishment
vary from fines, forfeitures ofproperty, imprisonment to capital
punishment. Practically, the main
punishment is imprisonment. Those
who cannot afford to pay a fine shallalso have to be imprisoned.
Imprisonment could be replaced byprobation in case of first-time offense.
Compared with probation,
imprisonment rate is still very highand is imposed to every type ofoffenses including petty offense,
gambling, offense against traffic
laws, etc. The frequent use of
imprisonment has simply made an
overcrowding situation in prisons.
iv) The Strict Regulation of Pre-Release
Programs of the Department ofCorrections: In Thailand, after the
imprisonment term is imposed, theDepartment of Corrections has a
responsibility to keep the offenders
in custody until the termination of
their sentence term. During
incarceration, if the inmates show
better attitude, good conduct, andtheir readiness to return to society,
the Department of Corrections is
empowered to release them prior totheir sentence term. Pre-releaseprograms include Good Conduct
Allowance, Public Work Allowance,
and Parole. Practically, to comply
with these three programs, especiallyparole, the conditions are very strict
and quite difficult to obtain. The
Department of Corrections has

TABLE 3
Number of Conditional Released Prisoners during the Last 5 Years
Year
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

366

Good Conduct
No.
%14,003
20.57
17,46023.62
17,54326.85
18,67024.79
17,671
18.21

Public Work
No.
%
8,287
12.18
7,935
10.73
4,608
7.05
5,868
7.79
6,093
6.28

Parole
No.
%
2,088
3.07
2,109
2.85
802
1.23
1,114
1.48
1,016
1.05

TotalConvict
No.
%
68,058100
73,920100
65,336100
75,320100
97,027100

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
realized that pre-release programs
are one good way to solve theovercrowding problem and has tried
to promote program implementation,
but the number of conditional
releases are still relatively low dueto the strict conditions. The numberof inmates receiving conditional
release during these last five years
is shown in Table 3.
C. Countermeasures for Alleviating
Long Term Detention ofUnsentenced Inmates
As for Thailand, it might be difficult toalleviate the long-term detention of
unsentenced inmates since there are no
facilities for custody apart from prisons.
Generally, at every police station, there isa custody cell for unsentenced offenders or
detainees. However, most police cells are
small, limited in number, and lack of goodhygiene. It is necessary to send
unsentenced offenders and detainees to beincarcerated in the overcrowded but yet
cleaner prisons and correctional
institutions.
The basic measurement that would
alleviate the long-term detention of
unsentenced offenders is bail granting.
However, this measurement is practicallyfor those who can afford with their property
and may not be affordable for the poorer.
The solving of this problem might be doneby the change of bail guarantor, which
could be honorable persons, working
status, or some possible alternatives.
A c t u a l l y, t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t
countermeasures to alleviate the long-term
detention of unsentenced inmates are
speedy trial, which needs good cooperationfrom every agency in the criminal justicesystem. Due to the circumstances inThailand where there are a lot of arrestsas part of crime suppression, the trial cases
are too numerous and beyond the capacityof public prosecutors, judges, or otherofficials in the system. Consequently,
speedy trials are too difficult in practice.
D. Effective Use of Alternative
Measures to Imprisonmenti) T h e E x p a n s i o n o f P r o b a t i o n
Supervising: In order to alleviate
imprisonment, it is important thatprobation be imposed to some certain
crimes; so that the offenders can betreated and supervised in their own
c o m m u n i t y. T h e n u m b e r o nprobation in Thailand is relatively
low compared to imprisonment. The
expansion of probation is considered
as one important measure in thisissue.
ii) The Establishment of Alternative
Punishment Schemes to
Imprisonment: For some petty
offenses, there should be appropriate
types of punishment rather thanimprisonment such as homedetention, community redemption
work, weekend detention, etc.
iii) The Establishment of Alternative
Punishment Schemes for Drug
Addicts: Upon the arrest of a drug
offender, the offender should be
scrutinized and diagnosed whether
he/she should receive the compulsory
drug treatment program or
imprisonment. Compulsory drug
treatment programs may be operated
in either a drug treatment center ora boot camp system.
iv) The Expansion of Community-Basedand Aftercare Schemes: It has beenrecognized that community-based
and aftercare programs areimportant activities in terms ofrehabilitation and alleviation of
imprisonment. The Department ofCorrections should consider changing
the regulations that has limited thenumber of conditional releases.
Furthermore, projects on pre-367

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
released in the community should be
encouraged, so that pre-released
prisoners should be able to stay infacilities situated in the community
where they can find jobs and adapt
themselves to their society before thetermination of their sentence term.

both the relatives and prison staff.
b. Clothing
In Thailand, clothing necessity thatshould be provided to each prisoner
consists of:-III. ACTUAL SITUATION AND
PROBLEMS OF PRISONCONDITIONS
A. Implementation of the Rules inThailanda. Food
In Thailand, the budget that the
Department of Corrections receives for foodof each prisoner per day is 27 Baht (US$00.73). According to Thai Penitentiary Act,
food shall be provided to a prisoner at least
twice a day. Practically, prisons andcorrectional institutions serve three meals
to prisoners. In case of religious restriction
about food like Muslim, proper food shallbe prepared for the prisoners.
As for the received budget, the 27 Baht
is spent on rice, side dishes and cooking
gas. It is very low and does not deem toproduce sufficient quality and quantity offood. The Department of Corrections has
raised this problem to the government andwas approved for the new rate of 32 Baht
( U S $ 0 0 . 8 6 ) p e r p e r s o n p e r d a y.
Unfortunately, due to the economic crisisof the country, the new rate has not yet
been equipped.
Practically, every prison and correctional
institution has ameliorated the problem offood for prisoners by allowing relatives tobring some food for the prisoners
occasionally. However, the bringing of food
could be a channel of drug smuggling into
prisons. The problem is partly solved by
the establishment of store in front of a
prison to cook and sell food to relatives infair price. Food selling is convenient for

368

-

-

Prison Clothes
2 sets/person/year
Loincloth (Traditional All-purpose
Cloth)
1 piece/person/year
Underwear
2 pieces/person/yearTowel
1 piece/person/2 years

The above necessity seems to be very
limited and might not be sufficient for one’s
personal use. Nonetheless, theDepartment of Corrections is not yet able
to provide such necessity to every inmate
due to the lack of budget allocation. In
some prisons where there is garment
factory inside, prison clothes may be
produced and provided to every inmate ona self-help basis. But this is only an
exception. The Department cannot provide
sufficient clothing to prisoners. Problem
is solved by letting the inmates using theirpersonal clothes. Prison clothes is used
only when bringing the inmates outside theprison e.g. during transportation to andfrom the court and while performing public
work in the community.
c. Housing
Housing or facility is one of the main
problems that the Department ofCorrections has encountered. The
unexpected rapid increase of prisoners hasbrought the overcrowding circumstance,
especially during nighttime when theinmates have to sleep tightly in dormitory
cell.
The standard capacity of prison in
Thailand is set by the calculation of

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
minimum sleeping floor space in thedormitory cell. Standard capacity for one
inmate is 1 meter in width and 2.25 meterin length, totally 2.25 square meter.
The standard capacity varies when there
is a construction of more facilities or the
expansion of dormitory cells. In 1998, total
floor space was 156,687.00 square meter.
The capacity was 69,638 inmate. The
prison population was 164,451 inmates andthe number beyond the standard capacity
was 94,813 inmates. Later on in 1999,
there were more facilities and the total floor
space was 189,208.42 square meter. The
capacity was 84,223 inmates. The prison
population was 205,340 inmates and thenumber beyond the standard capacity was
121,117 inmates. Housing construction
seems to be very slow and can never catch
up with the rapid increasing number
inmates.
So as to solve the problem and to planfor the future, the Department ofCorrections has proposed to thegovernment various construction projects,
some of which were accepted while somewere not. Samples of construction projects
are:
-

-

-

Improvement of Prison Facilities
Project: The Department had
proposed four projects, two of whichhave been approved while the othertwo do not receive budget for
operation.
Construction of Regional Maximum
Security Prison Project: The
Department had proposed fiveprojects, two of which have been
approved while the other three do notreceive budget for operation.
Construction of a Prison to Substitutethe Old Prison in Urban Area Project:
The Department had proposed 31
projects, 8 of which have been
approved while the other 23 do notreceive budget for operation.
B. Factors Impeding Satisfaction of
the Rules and Their Effective
Countermeasures
In the administration of correctional
activity, the Department of Corrections has
basically followed the Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Correctional officers at every level shallreceive knowledge on the rules throughtraining program. In some aspects, Thai
prisons and correctional institutions havetreated the offenders better than the
stipulated rules, even though in some otheraspects it is not able to do so. Considering
the preliminary observations of the rules
indicating that “In the view of the great
variety of legal, social, economic andgeographical conditions of the world, it isevident that not all of the rules are capableof application in all places and at all time.
They should, however, serve to stimulate
a constant endeavor to overcome practicaldifficulties in the way of their application”,
the Department of Corrections is confident
in its application responding satisfactorily
to the rules. The treatment of prisoners isbasically based on the rules and on thesuitable circumstances of Thai culture.
There is no such thing like the breach ofhuman right or inhumane treatment of thesystem.
The applicable of the rules in Thai
correctional system is impeded in some
aspects as follows:
Separation of Categories: The rules
indicate that “Untried prisoners shall be
kept separate from convicted prisoners.” Aspreviously mentioned, prisons responsible
for taking in custody of untried prisoners
are Remand Prisons or Remand Sectionsin Provincial Prisons. Due to the rapid
increase of prisoners and overcrowding
problem, it becomes difficult to separate theuntried prisoners, especially during

369

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
daytime. During nighttime, separation is
likely to be applicable. In some limited
facilities such as female section inprovincial prison, it is not possible at all toseparate untried prisoners from convict
ones because of a small scale of the section.
The solving of problem is done bytransferring convicted prisoners to regional
female correctional institutions. The
transfer of prisoners can cause trouble
because they may be too far from therelatives to pay visits to them.
Accommodation: The rules indicatethat minimum floor space should be
provided to prisoners. The Department ofCorrections has basically stipulated
minimum floor space for one prisoner, but
due to the overcrowding problem in mostprisons, the minimum floor space can not
be met.
Medical Services: It is indicated that“At every institution there shall beavailable the services of at least one
qualified medical officer who should havesome knowledge of psychiatry.” In thisregard, one thing that every government
agency in Thailand shares in common is
the lack of medical doctors. The cause ofthis problem is because the production of
medical doctors is very limited and a lot of
doctors prefer working in private sector to
public one. Consequently, the Departmentof corrections cannot provide medical
doctors in every facility. Medical service isavailable in very few prisons that are
equipped with necessary medical facilities.
If the prisoners are sick, either bygeneral disease or mental sickness, theyshall be transferred to nearby public
hospitals. Sick inmates requiring longterm treatment shall be transferred toCentral Correctional Hospital, which is the
only hospital of the Department ofCorrections.

370

C. Actual Situation of HealthControl for Inmates andMeasures for Improvement
There are 133 prisons and correctional
institutions throughout the whole country
while there is only one hospital with its
capacity of 300 beds. In every prison, there
is a clinic where basic medical assistanceis available. Sick prisoners requiring
medical treatment are to be transferred tonearby public hospital and those who needlong-term treatment shall be transferredto the Central Correctional Hospitalsituated in Bangkok. Health control for
inmates is conducted by the Medical
Services Division and by the Central
C o r r e c t i o n a l H o s p i t a l . Tw o m a i n
problematic situations are AIDS and TB.
a. AIDS Situation
Comparing to general population of thecountry, inmate population has muchhigher infection of AIDS. A random blood
testing was conducted to 400 general
inmates in Klong Prem Central Prison in
October 1998, it was found that 10 percentof the inmates were infected with AIDS.
The number could have been much higher
if conducting to drug addicted inmates.
The inmates infected to AIDS who areseriously sick shall have to be transferredto the only Central Correctional Hospital,
which has its capacity of 300 in-patient
beds. This has led to two main problems:
overcrowding the hospital and an
extremely high death rate.
b. TB Situation
In connection to AIDS situation, one
serious disease that follows is Tuberculosis.
The death rate from TB has increased. In
1998, 24 percent of sick inmates in thehospital died of TB, having spread thedisease to many other inmates beforehand
due to overcrowding circumstances. It isfound that the statistic of TB infection of
the inmate population is ten times higher
than the general population. The

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
treatment of TB needs at least 6-9 months
and should be closely supervised by medical
technicians so as not to spread the disease
to others. As a matter of fact, keeping the
TB infected inmates in custody is
considered as an advantage in terms of
medical treatment and prevention of
disease spreading to people in thecommunity. The problem of Departmentof Corrections is un-sufficient medical
services and inpatient beds to serve thehigh number of sick inmates.
IV. CURRENT TREND OFPRISONERS AND THEIR PROBLEM
A. Foreign Prisoners and Issues of
Their Transfer
a. Foreign Prisoners
At present, the advance oftransportation and communication makes
the world smaller. The international crime
becomes numerous. Looking back 30 years
earlier, there was no foreign prisoner inThai prisons. As of December 1999, there
were totally 5,034 foreign prisoners
consisting of 4,454 males and 580 females
in prisons and correctional institutions allover the country. Among this number,
81.96 percent were Asian, 12.24 percent
were from Africa, and the rest of 05.80
percent were from Europe, America andOceania.
As for type of offense, the most frequent
offense is offense against narcotic drug
(52.52 percent). The other offenses
committed by foreign prisoners are offense
against property, against life, false
document, others respectively.
In regard to treatment program, foreignprisoners basically receive the same
treatment program as Thai prisoners.
However, considering that foreignprisoners are serving their time in a place
too far from their home, with different
language and culture, certain leniency isgiven as far as the prison would consider
appropriate.
b. Transfer of Prisoners
Tr a n s f e r o f p r i s o n e r r e c a l l s t h eresolution 13 adopted by the 6th United
Nation Congress on the Prevention of
Crime and Treatment of Offenders held in
Caracas, Venezuela in 1980. In Thailand,transfer of prisoner is operated in two
categories: the transfer of prisoner to serve
the remaining sentence term in his/hercountry of nationality and the transfer ofprisoner as mutual assistance in criminal
matters.
i) Repatriation Transfer of Prisoner: In
1984, Thailand has issued “The
Legislation on Procedure for
Cooperation between States in the
Execution of Penal Sentence B.E.
2527.” With stipulated provisions,Thai prisoners in foreign countries
can be transferred to serve theirsentence in the Kingdom, and foreignprisoners in the Kingdom shall beable to continue to serve the rest of
their sentence term in theirrespective countries.
The idea of prisoner transfer had
been initiated in 1978 between
Thailand and the USA. However, thenegotiation and administrative
process took periods of time. The firsttreaty of prisoner transfer between
Thailand and the USA was signed in
1982. At present, the operation oftransfer treaty is as follows:-

Transfer treaties have been signed
and become effective with 13
countries that are: the USA,
Canada, France, Spain, Portugal,
P o l a n d , G e r m a n y, S w e d e n ,Austria, Italy, United Kingdom
and Northern Ireland, Finlandand Denmark.

371

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57-

Tr a n s f e r t r e a t i e s a w a i t i n g
ratification with two countries
that are: Switzerland and Israel.
- Tr a n s f e r t r e a t i e s p e n d i n gnegotiation with seven countries
that are: Czech Republic, Peru,
The Philippines, Swaziland,
Nepal, Estonia and Hong Kong.
ii) Transfer of Prisoner as Mutual
Assistance on Criminal Matter: The
problems of crimes affect the public
security and the economic stability of
the country. With the technologicaldevelopment, various crimes start tomove across the boundaries of two or
more countries. The growth andexpansion of transnational crimes
stimulate many authorities toimprove and implement themeasures at international level withthe main purpose of punishing thealleged offenders in order tostrengthen and lubricate the criminal
justice system. Extradition andbilateral agreements on mutual legal
assistance in criminal matters are
considered valuable tools in the fightagainst transnational crimes.
In Thailand, apart from “The
Extradition Act B.E. 2472”, “The
Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal
Matters Act B.E. 2535” is anotherimportant legislation. It provides
assistance in criminal matters toforeign states i.e. taking thetestimony and statement of persons,providing documents, records andevidence for the prosecution of thealleged offenders to the requestingstate. The new concept on mutual
legal assistance brings about a great
success for the effective international
cooperation.
According to this mutual
assistance transfer scheme, some372

prisoners, both Thai and foreign
nationalities, have been transferred
to another states to be present in theprosecution of some criminal cases.
The transfer has shown the attemptof cooperation in criminal justicesystem at the international level.
B. Drug Related Prisoners
In Thailand, narcotic drug is a problem
that has occurred for very long time. The
addiction, possession, producing, selling or
trafficking of drugs are illegal, and thepunishments shall be imprisonment, life
imprisonment or capital punishment.
Notwithstanding the attempt of the Thaigovernment in prevention and suppressionof narcotic drug, the problem has neverbeen diminished from the Thai society.
Thailand may be the only country thatprovides specific facility to incarcerate drug
offenders called “Correctional Institution
for Drug Addicts”. The six correctional
institutions for drug addicted are situatedin different regions of the country. The
institution is responsible for theincarceration of drug offenders, both drug
addicts and drug dealers. The offenders ofother offenses, even though they havehistory of drug using or drug relating, theyshall not be incarcerated in the correctional
institution for drug addict. Apart fromtaking the inmates in custody which is themain responsibility of the Department ofCorrections, the institution for drug addicts
shall have to provide drug treatment
programs for the addicts. As for drug
dealers, after conviction, they shall betransferred to other prisons since they are
considered as criminals, not drug addicts.
Now that the number of drug offenders
in high, the six correctional institutions for
drug addicts are not able to intake thewhole number. It is necessary to
incarcerate drug offenders in various
prisons throughout the whole country. At

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
present, more than half of prisoners in mostprisons and correctional institutions are
drug offenders.
Drug treatment has become one
important mission of the Department ofCorrections. Practically, it is wellrecognized that after a period of detention,a person can automatically stop using drug.
But it is only a physical stop. When theprisoner gets release and return to his own
society, he would deem to use drug again,
which would cause recidivism. The
Department of Corrections has altered themeans of treatment program from physicaltreatment to mental treatment. It has been
seven years that Therapeutic Community
or TC program has been applied astreatment of drug addicts in prisons.
In order to study TC theoretically andpractically, the Department has cooperated
with various agencies both in private andpublic sectors. Correctional officers andconcerned staff are trained to handle TC
program in prisons. At present, only 6
correctional institutions for drug addicts
have handled the TC program, but 70
prisons throughout the country have also
handled the TC program to their inmates.
Nowadays, the Thai government has put
high emphasis on drug treatment. The
target of treatment is not only at drug
offenders, but also at offenders committing

other type of crime that have drug-using
history. The Department of Corrections
has the project of construction of “DrugTreatment Center”. The center, which shallbe opened in late 2000, will serve as aminimum-security prison that provides TC
program and agricultural training program
to drug offenders and drug related
offenders.
C. Female Prisoners
During this last decade, number offemale prisoners has been increasing. In
1992, there were 4,030 female prisoners inprisons and correctional institutions of thewhole country, while in 1999, there were
19,235 female prisoners. Comparing tomale prisoners, the increase of female
prisoners is much higher. In 1999, the ratio
between male and female prisoners is 6 to
1. The tendency shows that if theincreasing of female prisoners continues inthis rate, the number of female prisoners
will be equal to male prisoners within thenext ten years.
The number of female prisoners might
have represented the equality of men andwomen in Thai society. The actual
situation indicates that crime involved not
only men but also women, especially drug
offense. According to the statistic, it isfound that, in 1999, among the total
number of convicted female prisoners,
13,314 or 69.22 percent has committed

TABLE 4
Type of Offense of Female Prisoners (as of 1999)
Type of Offense
Offense Against Property
Offense Against Drug and Inhalant Laws
Offense Against Life
Bodily Harm
Sex Offense
Offense Against Social Security
Others
Total

No.
4,604
13,314
308
120
77
10
802
19,235

%
23.93
69.22
1.60
0.62
0.40
0.05
4.17
100
373

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
crime against drug laws; as shown in Table
4.
Looking backward into the last ten
years, it is found that the number of female

prisoners who have committed drug offense
has been doubled. In 1990, there were1,815 female drug offenders, which
represented 39.39% of the total number.
While in 1999, the number of female drug

TABLE 5
Number of Female Prisoners During the Last Ten Years
Year
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000

Female Prisoners
4,609
4,929
4,030
4,593
5,409
6,519
6,401
8,855
12,80819,23532,662

offenders has reached 13,314 prisoners or
69.33% of the total. The details are shownin Table 5.
It can be said that Thai women havecommitted more crime, especially crime
against drug and against property. As forserious crime such as offense against lifeand bodily harm, the number remains
unchanged. This has represented
participating roles of women in Thai
society, which have led to chances tocommit crime concerning property,
financial activities and illegal drugs.
V. CONCLUSION
As people commonly say, “If one wants
to know what the country is like, one shouldlook at the country’s prison”. The
administration of corrections in Thailand
has definitely reflected the country’s socialand economic problem. People have a fearof crime and wish that every wrongdoer be
kept away and expect that prisons should

374

Drug Offenders
1,815
1,960
2,130
2,765
3,230
4,167
4,629
6,857
10,046
13,314
17,346

%
39.39
39.76
52.85
60.20
59.71
63.92
72.32
77.44
78.43
69.22
53.11

rehabilitate every single criminal before
releasing him back into the society. All
criminal justice agencies are effected bythis public attitude and are trying theirbest to encounter the situation.
Corrections, which is the last agency incriminal justice system, has to be
responsible for the increasing number ofoffenders. Overcrowding, prison conditions
and rehabilitative treatment programs
have become heavy burdens forcorrectional officers. The solving of these
problems can not be done by the
Department of Corrections alone.
Governmental bodies including criminal
justice agencies shall have to reconsider
and cooperate in ameliorating the problem.