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 The Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS) says African prisons have agreed to come up with various strategies to decongest prisons and provide the best correctional services in the region.
Overcrowding of prisons, especially in some of the country’s remand prisons, has been a major setback for the ZPS.
In an interview with the ZBC News, Deputy Commissioner of the ZPS, Rhodes Moyo, said the ZPS has been working towards the decongestion of prisons in line with the vision of the heads of African correctional services in the SADC region.
Deputy Commissioner Moyo said the introduction of community service is another solution which has reduced overcrowding in prisons.
He said the only challenge which is currently facing remand prisons is the delay in court processes.
He said the organisation is currently working with the police and the judiciary in order to come up with a long lasting solution in decongesting the remand prisons.
In recent court cases, it has been established that some suspects spend more than two years before being tried.
This has also impacted on the population of remand prisons, especially at Harare Central Prison.
Currently, remand prisons across the country are overcrowded with those which have a capacity of 3 500 prisoners carrying about 5 000 prisoners awaiting trial.
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