The Ministry of Justice (MJ) wants to professionalize, through training, the prison guards at the Becora Prison in Dili.
Deputy Minister of Justice, Ivo Valente, said between 2012 and 2013 some 15 prison guards already attended training in Adelaide, Australia.
“[In 2014] we will also send some to be trained by our own armed forces F-FDTL,” said Deputy Minister MJ Valente in Dili.
He added it is the government’s responsibility to increase the professional ability of prison guards.
“We will also provide them with theory training about the laws, human rights issues and on how to treat prisoners.”
The Deputy Minister added prison officer will need particular training on capturing escapees to avoid prison escapes such as the two previous incidents that took place in 2006 and in November 2013.
Meanwhile Member of Parliament (MP), Mateus de Jesus, said this is a very important initiative so prison guards can become more professional.
“The guards need to learn how to prevent prisoners from escaping and also how they treat prisoners. Also what physical action they need to apply should a prisoner try to escape. They must learn all these things,” said MP de Jesus.
He added prisoners can easily escape prison now because the guards have weak capacity to prevent this.
