Increased transnational and organised crime operations have prompted a rethink in Pacific Island countries. Detecting, disrupting and deterring criminal syndicates has meant strengthening regional mechanisms, law enforcement capacity building, expanding stakeholder networks to include non-state partners, and increasing awareness about the many implications of transnational and organised crime on the Pacific way of life.
But while law enforcement has received a boost, a gap remains in dealing with people that are convicted. The crucial role of corrections agencies as critical partners for an offensive against transnational and organised crime remains largely unincorporated or too often completely absent in regional discussions about combating crime.
Unlike other law enforcement agencies across the region, corrections are not represented at the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP). There is no regional body to oversee regional level engagement for correction agencies.
Corrections agencies are essential to facilitate the rehabilitation of offenders as well as the prevention of crime. Investment at both the regional and national level significantly falls short.
Accounts from Fiji and Papua New Guinea suggest that many corrections officers lack the training, skills and exposure to support the rehabilitation of offenders with extensive criminal histories, mental health challenges, or continued engagement in transnational and organised crime activities. This is likely also true for other parts of the region with even less resources in the corrections arena.
A 2021 report in Tonga warned that convicted individuals were being given suspended prison sentences because of inadequate incarceration facilities.
Training to become a corrections officer varies across the region, from a one-week orientation in smaller countries to a six-week training program in others. In countries such as Tuvalu, where corrections is a function of police, no formal training specific to the role is received. There are few support services to facilitate officers’ health and wellbeing, and little to no ongoing training about the evolving threat of transnational and organised crime. Accounts of officers’ engagement in criminal activities and mistreatment of incarcerated individuals suggest significant capacity development shortfalls.
Solomon Islands has sought to address shortfalls by partnering with Corrective Services from Australia. This is an admirable initiative, but also revealing of the need for greater investment at national and regional levels to ensure long-term and sustainable solutions.
It is generally acknowledged that under-resourced correctional facilities increase recidivism. Yet services across the region continue to lack the capacity to effectively rehabilitate offenders. Lack of adequate funding in Pacific Island countries mean that inmates can be detained with no options for rehabilitation.
For example, a 2006 paper on Tonga Corrections described an overcrowded prison system in need of housing improvements and inmate programs, yet almost 20 years on, the system has not undergone any major improvements to infrastructure or staffing capacity. A 2021 report warned that convicted individuals were being given suspended prison sentences because of inadequate incarceration facilities. This challenge is compounded by policies from Australia and New Zealand to deport convicted criminals to their home country.
Overcrowding, understaffing and under resourcing is a recurrent theme for correction agencies across the region. This indicates a major gap in regional efforts to tackle transnational and organised crime. as those imprisoned for such offences are likely to be caught in a reoffending loop. Examples of returned residents being charged for reoffending on multiple occasions and also expanding their criminal networks while incarcerated substantiates this point.
Increasing domestic illicit drug markets across the region have had a documented effect on the composition of prison populations across the region. There have been increased numbers of inmates with medical issues related to drug withdrawal, untreated mental health complications and continued illicit drug use. Correctional facilities across the region are significantly ill-equipped and under-prepared to deal with such challenges. This creates a fertile breeding ground for criminal networks and the spillover effects.
Failure to urgently correct the corrections gap threatens to undermine regional efforts to combat transnational and organised crime. Correctional agencies must be brought into larger discussions, and more attention given to rehabilitation. To downplay the gaps in the corrections system will be like catching fish with a broken net.
