The General Directorate of Prisons
The General Directorate of Prisons is the entity responsible for organizing, guarding, and managing prisons in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its headquarters is located in the capital, Riyadh, and it is one of the directorates affiliated with the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
The establishment of the General Directorate of Prisons
The establishment of the General Directorate of Prisons dates back to 1968 when Royal Approval was issued to establish a general department of prisons within the organizational structure of the General Directorate of Public Security, as the tasks related to prisons and their administrations in the Kingdom were directly assigned to the police, being one of its many departments. In 1969, a Royal Order was issued to establish the Administration of Prisons and Detention, and in the same year, a decision was issued by the Minister of Interior to form the General Administration of Prisons while indicating its responsibilities and duties.
The Law of Imprisonment and Detention
In 1978, a Royal Decree was issued regarding the Law of Imprisonment and Detention, upon which the Supreme Council for Prisons was established to prepare studies on developing the role of prison and detention to achieve their desired goals and make them more effective in evaluating convicts.
The General Administration of Prisons was separated from the General Directorate of Public Security by a decision of the Minister of Interior in 2000, thus becoming an independent sector linked to the Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs. The administration was then transformed into the General Directorate of Prisons, while it structurally remained related to the Minister of Interior. This structure was adopted by a decision of the Council of Ministers in 2003.
Objectives of the General Directorate of Prisons
The directorate's work is based on spreading awareness of the goals of prisons through research, seminars, lectures, and exhibitions. Its responsibilities also include eradicating illiteracy and continuing the inmates' education. Moreover, it aims to develop the technical and professional aspects of the prisoners, solve their problems, and take care of their social well-being. The directorate also organizes many rehabilitation and psychological programs in this regard, allowing the inmates to engage in many different activities.
The General Directorate of Prisons publishes a monthly magazine entitled al-Islah (Reform), which focuses on presenting a variety of general and cultural topics. It also provides a space for the inmates to share their writings.
Programs of the General Directorate of Prisons
The General Directorate of Prisons provides correctional, rehabilitation, and training programs for prisoners during their sentence that match their abilities, allowing them to lead normal lives among the members of the community after their release, including vocational training, which is one of the correctional programs offered to prisoners. This initiative allows prisoners to join any technical profession available in vocational and industrial training workshops inside the prison. The program aims to discipline and educate the inmates, provide them with a way to lead a decent life in the community after their release, develop the skills of the experienced ones, and benefit from their energy.
The professions include car mechanics, car denting, X-steel welding, electrician, general carpentry, sanitary plumbing, electricity and wiring, cloth tailoring, refrigeration, and air conditioning, in addition to electronics, welding, and blacksmithing. The duration of each of the previous courses is six months. Other professions include construction, reinforced concrete, bookbinding, leather industry, carpet industry, paints, shoemaking industry, hand weaving industry, and rosary beads industry.
Specialized rehabilitation centers in the directorate
In December 2021, the General Directorate of Prisons launched a number of specialized rehabilitation centers in various regions of the Kingdom, as one of the objectives of the directorate’s strategic plan to reduce recidivism rates. These centers include: Fajr, Thiqah, and Ishraqah.
Fajr Rehabilitation Center targets first-time prisoners in order to support them and spare them the trauma of imprisonment, as well as the behavioral, psychological, familial, and social effects they may experience. This center works according to scientific bases, considered the first of its kind in correctional rehabilitation within penal institutions.
Thiqah Center prepares inmates with one year or less left of their sentence to reintegrate them into society and reinforce confidence in their abilities and potential before their release. As for Ishraqah Center, it seeks to alter the behavior of inmates convicted of drug addiction and help them recover psychologically and physically via rehabilitative, psychological, and social treatment programs.