RESTRUCTURING THE PRISON SYSTEM: A GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE

Trivially, the prisoner is a person living in prison. As for the prison, it is a correctional place, which welcomes deviant individuals in society. All of us have a knowledge, however small it may be, of the actions to be taken which would open the doors to the stay of the prison environment. Whether it is an emanation of a personal life story (the story of a loved one or of oneself), or a fictional story sometimes modeled on reality (films). This being so, the notion of no one is supposed to ignore the law with the full right to find its marks.

Panoramic look at the prison environment

This article does not give itself the mission of bringing additional elements to the knowledge of each other. For laymen, it lays the groundwork for what the prison is in her. Each region of Cameroon has at least one prison. On this basis, ten prisons can be counted throughout Cameroon. Its configuration provides for a population less than or equal to sixteen thousand inhabitants. The said population grouped into neighborhood. The neighborhood here is what the pavilion is for the health environment (hospital). Just as we have the operating, administrative, maternity, sleeping room, emergency room, etc., the prison environment also obeys such a configuration. The district of minors, women, and adults. Undoubtedly, the administrative buildings are there. Unlike what American and French films very often show us, detainees in Cameroon are not identifiable by their clothing. Everyone manages their own way and dresses as they see fit.

When the flat takes precedence

From 2016 to the present day, the prison population has almost doubled or even tripled. Of sixteen thousand occupants in 2016 to thirty-two thousand in 2020, there is reason to ask questions. How do they sleep? Are they enough in these cramped quarters? What are the health risks incurred by this part of the population? Are they sufficiently cared for to overcome certain epidemics? What is the State doing to decongest this surplus population even though we know that because of the fire that occurred some time ago at New Bell central prison, this living space has shrunk? What translates this silence of the ruling class? The comprehension of these questions imposes a retrospective on the form of State which is ours and its components.

From legislative to executive

In Cameroon, we have the judicial authority, legislative and executive. What holds our attention in this issue is the legislative and the executive. Very recently, despite national tensions, Cameroon had the opportunity to organize municipal and legislative elections. Which give the possibility of having the mayors at the head of each district municipality, and the deputies who are the spokespersons of the people that we are. These (deputies) have the mission of passing the laws which are submitted to the hierarchy for validation and application. The latter ruled on what is described here as sentences alternatives in order to alleviate, provide an element of response to the grievances of people living in prison. Since 2016, despite their determination and enthusiasm, the executive (THE president of there Republic) has not yet given a favorable opinion on this request. Add to this state of affairs, the proposals (construction of new prisons, implementation of alternative sentences, etc.) from all the presidents of the Court of Appeals in Cameroon have still not found the way to satisfaction. Ultimately, the situation within the prison environment remains the same to this day.

The main penalties in Cameroon

From the start, we have been referring to the expression alternative sentences. Before getting there, note that the Cameroonian penal code distinguishes three types of penalties:

• THE sentences main

These consist of the death penalty, imprisonment and even fines

• Accessory penalties

Including fines, denunciation, sealing or closure of an establishment

To these two penalties is added an intermediary qualified as sentences alternatives. This is applied for minor offenses on a person who has received a sentence of less than or equal to two years. In this case, it must be submitted to the works of interest audience. They can be made up of scanning of there Street, the exercise of small works beneficial to society as a whole. Questions can be asked: why the non-applicability? What is a minor offence? When should we consider that it is indeed a? They remain the responsibility of the executive, which so far has not signed the implementation of such a law.

Civil society action: the case of the WCC

Talking about civil society, allude to the associations, NGO etc. quite recently, the COE (Center Orientation Educational) took part in the awareness game by bringing together several participants to present the vision and allow everyone to get a feel for the reality of the prison environment. Making this environment its first target, the exchange consisted in collecting the opinions of each other, informed, sensitized on the acts of laudable citizens. Because no one is supposed to be unaware of the law, everything was implemented so that even the layman discovered, understood what it was about. In turn, after more than 120 minutes of interaction, the objective was achieved.

Note, however, that the COE is interested in the prison environment and life after prison. She accompanies prisoners during their prison stay and even afterwards. For those left by the company or in financial deficiency, it provides lawyers (who could be described as court clerks) to ensure the pleadings of the latter. It provides certain ex-prisoners with training adapted to each individual's level in order to ensure their socio-professional reintegration.

Because the prison experience is not always easy, and because the damage can be irreversible, the COE provides mediation, listening cells between the parties concerned to establish and strengthen the social fabric of family cohesion. In view of this aforementioned reality, it is clear that the condition of prison populations will only change through political will. If the executive does not provide a solution and continues to play the card of silence in the face of this fact, it is clear that no deputy, no other government entity will be able to solve this. While waiting for the grace to run out, let's continue to pray that the leader will continue to bestow favors from time to time.