Improving Safety Management in Prisons

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Prison officers stand guard at the entrance to the Tangerang Penitentiary, Banten, after a fire, Thursday (9/9/2021). A total of 44 inmates died during the incident that occurred on Wednesday (8/9/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The deadly fire which raged in Block C2 of the Tangerang Penitentiary, Banten, could have been prevented if the prison used a reliable safety management system. Following this tragedy, necessary measures should be taken to develop a robust mechanism to deal with fires, with a focus on the evacuation of inmates.

The fire that occurred early morning on Wednesday killed 44 inmates. The death toll increased from the previous 41 after three inmates treated at the Tangerang Regional Hospital died the following day.

The coordinator of Jakarta State University’s Fire Safety Engineering Study Program, Catur Setyawan Kusumohadi, said that the fire in the Tangerang prison should be a lesson for the government to improve safety management in prisons. According to him, prisons should have a unique mechanism to deal with fires, part of which relates to the evacuation of inmates. This mechanism must be understood in detail and implemented by all officers. "It can be stipulated in special rules," he said.

Catur said that a reliable safety management system should be implemented in each prison building. In addition, prison buildings should be renovated with the latest technology that would enable the opening of all cell doors at the same time during an emergency situation.

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A former member of the security team who worked at Tangerang Prison from 1982-1985, who is now a member of the House of Representatives, Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa, said that the incident at the Tangerang prison would not have killed anyone, if the current standard operating procedures were strictly followed. According to the current procedures, when a fire occurs, security guards should report it to a superior officer while locating the source of the fire. In that situation, several prison officers would then gather at the location to extinguish the fire, he said.

If the fire spread, the block gate and cell rooms would be opened to evacuate the inmates to another place such as a hall. Other officers would then contact the police and ask them to guard outside the prison, as well the fire department if the fire spread.

“All of this can be realized if the procedure is carried out, as well as if the internal rules of the prison are applied. If there is an event like what we saw happen yesterday, it means the procedures were not carried out," said Agun.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

The families of the victims of the Tangerang prison fire submit data to the ante mortem post at the National Police Hospital, Kramat Jati, Jakarta, Thursday (9/9/2021). A total of 35 representatives of the victims\' families have submitted data to the Ante Mortem post at the Police Hospital, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

The head of the Public Relations Division of the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s Corrections Director General, Rika Aprianti, said in a virtual discussion that in addition to coping with the fire, her office was also ensuring that similar incidents would not occur in other prisons.

The Law and Human Rights Ministry is currently conducting an internal evaluation on the weaknesses in fire prevention.

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> Tangerang Penitentiary Message

A researcher at the Center for Detention Studies, Gatot Goei, said that overcrowding was one of the main problems in the country’s prisons. The inflow and outflow of prisoners must be well regulated to be balanced.

The inflow of prisoners is regulated through laws with criminal consequences, especially the Criminal Code. "In addition, the Narcotics Law must be reviewed in order to prevent the entry of drug users and drug addicts to prisons," said Gatot.

Twenty-two witnesses questioned

In investigating the cause of the fire, the police have questioned 22 witnesses comprising prison officers and inmates, as well as examining the electrical wire installation. The director of General Criminal Investigation at the Jakarta Police, Sr. Comr. Tubagus Ade Hidayat, said the police had not yet determined the cause of the fire in Block C2 of the Tangerang prison.

“In our initial conclusion, there is only one hot spot. The fire started from one point, then spread to the ceiling which was made of plywood," he said. According to the head of Tangerang prison, Victor Teguh Pri Hartono, Block C2 was a pavilion-style building with prison cells located in the middle. During the fire, the cells were locked in line with current protocols.

“That night, Block C2 was guarded by an officer and most of the inmates were in the hall. As an initial assessment, the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit. Sparks burned the plywood ceiling. The first person to see the fire was an officer from the security post," he said. ( NIA / REK/ NAD/ DAN/ ERK/ XTI )

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.