A number of inmates require tailor-made rehabilitation programs to fully recover before being reintegrated into society.

Fiji Corrections Service Commissioner Dr. Jalesi Nakarawa says this need is driving the development of a new rehabilitation center that will enable the provision of specialized training for drug and sexual offenders, as well as mentally challenged inmates.

Dr. Nakarawa also notes that they will seek assistance from Australia under the Vuvale Partnership for this program.

His comments come as the FCS is struggling with overcrowding at its facilities, because of an increase in drug and sexual offenders.

“For drug offenders, what you really need to do is just treat their offending behavior, which is their dependency on drugs. They’re not criminals, per say. Like sexual offenders. Most of them are really good, nice people when you meet them, but their sexual urge or whatever it is, is something they can’t control, and that is the behavior that needs to be addressed.”

Dr Nakarawa says they will be receiving more inmates once the proposed National Narcotic Bureau is up and running.

“They are focusing only on policing, on the prosecution, on the judiciary, but they’re forgetting that once this Narcotic Bureau is in place, arrests, convictions will so we will end up with more drug-related offenses, but at the moment we don’t have the resources, we don’t have the programs to treat this kind of thing.”

Fiji currently lacks sufficient drug rehab facilities and experts to manage and treat addicts effectively, with St. Giles Hospital struggling to cope.

A dedicated drug treatment center is critical to address this issue.