Applying Non-Custodial Measures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to Develop Strategies to Reduce Overcrowding in Prisons for Thailand

Abstract

          The objectives of this research were: 1) to study the concepts and principles of non-custodial measures from UNODC’s strategies to reduce prison overcrowding; 2) to study consistency between related non-custodial laws and guidelines to reduce overcrowding in prisons in Thailand and abroad; 3) to gather opinions and recommendations for developing strategies to reduce overcrowding in prisons for Thailand; and 4) to present guidelines for developing strategies to reduce overcrowding in prison for Thailand. Qualitative research was done with documentary and in-depth interviews with 28 key informants by using a structural interviewing guideline as a tool for interview, leading to content analysis and constant comparison and descriptive discussion.

           The results were: 1) The UNODC’s concepts and principles were able to be utilized to develop the prison overcrowding strategies for Thailand reducing the scope of imprisonment and pre-trial detention; 2) Thailand’s non-custodial laws and practices for reducing overcrowding in the prisons were consistent with the UNODC’s concepts and principles, as well as foreign laws and practices; 3) developing strategies to reduce overcrowding in prison for Thailand should involve greater research into the potential consequences, as well as consideration of how the UNODC’s guidelines should be applied; and 4) the government needed to initiate policies and set goals to reduce overcrowding in the prison, prepare for all sectors to jointly collaborate and plan the strategies at every stage, and promote further study on the issue of overcrowding in the prisons to bring the findings could be applied to develop laws and enhance recommendations to reduce overcrowding in the prisons.