Prison officials should maintain professional dignity: Def Secy

COLOMBO (News 1st); Defense Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne says prison officials must maintain professional dignity through exemplary conduct and those who fail to do so should be expelled from the service.

He made these remarks during a guest lecture at the two-day workshop for Commissioners and Superintendents of Prisons titled “Preparing for Contingency Plan for Riot and Hostage Situations in Prisons”.

The Defense Secretary also mentioned that the conduct of prison officials makes the difference between the incarcerated drug lords and underworld gangsters in prisons to continue operating their networks from within prisons or put a stop to all their sinister operations.

" Constructive changes have been made to curb illegal activities in prisons and I am happy to state that such measures have drastically reduced such activities." He said.

Highlighting the responsibility and importance of the appointment of Defence Secretary, he said that, as the highest official of a Ministry that comes under the purview of the President, the responsibility of ensuring the security of all citizens through a national security mechanism falls on him.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) funded by the European Union organized the workshop.

Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention, the UNODC is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime.