and then transferred to WCP, and subsequently to ACP. One of the inmate’s money was allegedly in the custody of the first prison, i.e. NRP, at the time the Commission received the complaint, while the other inmate’s money was in the custody of WCP at that time. When inquired from the CJ of WCP, he mentioned that sometimes valuable property is not transferred when a prisoner is transferred due to the lack of facilities in ensuring the safety of such goods during the transfer process. He further mentioned that such property will be stored in the safe until the transferred prisoner retrieves his/her property personally or through a family member upon release. 5.2. Retrieval of stored property The process of retrieving property across prisons was observed to be uniform to some extent. Prisoners may collect their own possessions when they are due to be discharged, or a letter has to be submitted to the SP or the SM Division by the family of the inmate, if they wish to request the items to be released on his behalf. The time period within which such a letter should be submitted is not stipulated. It would then be forwarded to the SP for approval after which it is sent to the storekeeper. The family member can collect the goods from the Receiving Jailor, who would obtain the signature of the family member in the presence of the storekeeper. Upon the death of an inmate certain prisons require a letter from the Grama Niladhari certifying the relationship of the person claiming the property to the prisoner in order to release the goods. In certain prisons the goods would only be released following an order made by the Magistrate. In KRP for example, family members may collect the property of the inmate following a statement provided by both the prisoner and the individual collecting the goods. In the event of death of a prisoner, a family member who has been informed by letter by the RC Branch can collect the valuables. There can be a delay of up to a week, before the property is handed over to the family member if the family member’s relationship to the inmate has to be verified. Valuables that are not collected will be auctioned after a year and the proceeds go to the Government Treasury. At WCP, every three years a verification takes place during which a team, such as an audit team, would identify and approve the inmates’ worn out clothes to be destroyed, since it is impractical to auction such clothes, which have been in storage for three years. Any unclaimed valuables, such as jewellery, would be sent to be auctioned. As observed at MCP, remandees are allowed to take their goods to court if they have information that bail would be granted on that day. The multiple systems in place at different prisons point to the need for a standard system for storage and retrieval of the possessions of prisoners for the entire prison system. It should be noted that the abovementioned procedures were mentioned to the Commission by the prison officers of the respective prisons; the effectiveness and efficiency of the procedures to retrieve personal property remains unknown as former prisoners were not interviewed during this study. Therefore, problems encountered during the procedure of releasing prisoners have not been adequately uncovered. 48