13.4. Home Leave Prisoners are allowed to visit and stay with their families for a stipulated period of time on Home Leave, once a certain length of their sentence has been completed. The process of obtaining Home Leave entails a list of names of eligible persons is prepared by each prison and submitted to the Prison Headquarters. The Home Leave Committee in each prison, assesses a prisoner’s eligibility for Home Leave, and generally comprises the Chief Jailor, a Senior Welfare Officer, a Disciplinary Jailor and Vocational Instructor while the Superintendent is the Chairman of the Committee. The list of eligible prisoners is thereafter forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for approval. The lack of a standardized format to prepare social reports, and to assess the prisoner’s progress, coupled with changes in the government causes delays in the procedure, about which prisoners often complained. There is also a lack of transparency in the process as persons whose Home Leave applications have been rejected are not given reasons for the rejection, although they are allowed to appeal the decision. 13.5. License Board Prisoners may also be released early on license, through the License Board procedure where a committee of personnel from the prison, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Department evaluate a prisoner’s conduct in prison during their sentence and assess suitability for early release. Delays in this procedure were attributed to the lack of resources and Rehabilitation Officers who are required to conduct field visits to the eligible inmate’s hometown and report the available level of family and community support. Female inmates are inherently at a disadvantage because the lack of rehabilitative activities and leadership positions available to women within prison prevent female prisoners from presenting a strong case for release. Another shortcoming of the process is that there is no written policy or guideline for members of the License Board to utilize when assessing a candidate’s suitability to be released, and to guide subsequent committees to ensure the process is standardized and consistent. This lack of objective standards and transparency means that the personal bias and opinions of committee members may influence decisions. No reasons are given when an application is rejected by the Board. Although a departmental circular requires the names of released prisoner to be displayed so the persons rejected may be able to appeal if they wish, thus indicating prisoners can appeal the decision of the License Board, the Additional Secretary (legal) of the Ministry of Justice stated that prisoners do not have the right to appeal. The Commission also observed that where the level of rehabilitation is judged by the number of activities and positions a prisoner was involved in over the years, prisoners who may be naturally introverted and unsocial, but who may be genuinely rehabilitated, may not be able to present a strong case before the Board. As such, a psychiatric evaluation as part of the License Board procedure would also improve the quality of the process. xix