都市にある刑務所：李国林受刑者と広島刑務所
日本では、こうした意義もあるのだから、ひたすら内観によって矯正に努めるペンシルバニア製をとらない。そこで刑務所は少人数で行っていた作業の人員を増加させたり、品質チェック等の回数を増やしたりしている。これはおよそ反資本主義的であり、出所後の社会適応に齟齬をきたす。法務省は、そのため、ボランティア活動など刑務所外での作業を多くする方針をとっている。そうすると、なおのこと、都市部への立地が必須になる。
Prisons in Cities : Inmate Li Guolin and Hiroshima Penitentiary
In Japan, there is such a specification. Thus, the Pennsylvania system, reforming inmates by applying self-contemplation method single-mindedly, is not taken. This is the reason why prisons have to increase the number of workers for tasks which were before done by a smaller number of workers. Also, they have increased the number of quality control tasks. This is almost like an anti-capitalism, and might cause contradictions of social adaptation after the inmates are released from prisons. The Ministry of Justice, therefore, takes a course of action to increase the tasks outside of prisons such as volunteer works. Doing so, prisons need to be located to urban areas all the more.
受刑者はいずれ社会に復帰することが前提になっている。社会から隔離すると、そこでのみ適応する人間を育ててしまい、出所後にまた犯罪を繰り返すようになりかねない。再販防止の観点から刑務所は都市部に立地せざるを得ない。
今回の脱走は、この受刑者に逃走歴があったことはさておき、起こるべくして起きたと言える。アメリカは性悪説で受刑者に臨むのに、日本は性善説をとっているから逃げられたんだというわけではない。刑務所の過剰収容が以前から指摘されている。
Supposing all inmates will eventually return to the society. If they are isolated from the society, they will be grown to be people who will adapt only to that specific place, and this may lead to them repeating crimes after they return to the society. In view of prevention of repeat convictions, prisons cannot help but to locate themselves in urban areas.
The prison escape by Li Guolin proves that it was bound to happen, setting aside that this inmate had had a history of escape before. In America, they face inmates with a view that human nature is fundamentally evil, but Japan's view is that human nature is fundamentally good. But this is not the reason why the inmate managed to escape. The prison's overcrowding issue has long been pointed out.
限られた数の刑務官で増える受刑者を監視することは難しくなる。それでいて予算の削減圧力も強い。法務省も手を打っている。収容率は2000年代半ばには110％を超えていたが、近年では各刑務所における収容棟の増築や新設PFI 刑務所(民営刑務所)の運営、受刑者総数の減少に伴い収容率は改善、100％を切るに至っている。しかしこれはあくまで平均である。刑期が長い服役囚や女子受刑者の施設は過剰収容の状態が継続している。さらに広島刑務所は収容分類級が幅広く、刑務官にも多様な人材が必要とされる
It is not an easy task observing ever-increasing inmates with a limited number of prison guards. Additionally, there is a strong pressure of budgetary cutback. The Ministry of Justice has already taken a measure. The housing rate of inmates had hit 110% in the middle of year 2000, but it has now been reduced to less than 100% after some extensions of inmates' accomodation buildings at all prisons, operation of newly built PFI prisons (private prisons), and also the improvement in the housing rate due to the decrease in total number of inmates in recent years. However, this is just an average standard. Facilities for convicts who are serving long-term sentences and female inmates are continually having an overcrowding issue. Additionally, the Hiroshima Penitentiary is known to have a wide range of housing ranks. This means they require many different types of prison guard resources.
人数だけの問題ではない。裁判員制度が始まり、今まで市民に知られることが少なかった刑事司法の世界が徐々に明らかになっている。今回の脱走事件を刑務所の監視体制の問題に帰着させるのは、この制度導入以前の認識でしかない。刑務所の社会復帰予定者の過剰収容という課題をどのように考え、対処していくのかが市民も建設的に議論する必要がある。伝統的な非収容型の刑罰と早期釈放制度の拡充ももっと検討されてよい。これも、もちろん、予算次第である。刑事事件はもはやニュースとして消費されるだけではない。
It is not just a problem of the number of people. The citizen judge system began in Japan, and the once-unknown world of criminal justice is gradually made clear. Logically concluding the escape incident as a problem of the prison's monitoring system is nothing but just a recognition before the citizen judge system came in effect. The general public need to discuss constructively about the opinions on the overcrowding problem of the inmates who are waiting to return to the society and also on how this problem shall be dealt with. Also, expansion of the traditional non-housing punishment and the early release system shall be considered further. These, of course, depend on the budgets. Criminal cases should no longer be consumed just as news stories.
