In an effort to prevent prison inmates from getting their hands on drugs, the anti-drugs agency of Indonesia is considering building a prison on an island that would be guarded by crocodiles. The prison would be used to house death row drug convicts. In Indonesia, drug policy offenders can face the death penalty.
The proposal to construct such a facility was made by the chief of the country’s anti-drugs agency Budi Waseso. In the near future, Waseso plans to visit various parts of the country in order to find toothy reptiles that would guard the jail. He says that he wants to place as many crocodiles around the jail as he can, and he wants them to be as fierce as possible. According to Waseso, crocodiles would be better at preventing drug trafficking or prison escapes than human guards because traditional guards can be bribed.
Waseso said, “You can’t bribe crocodiles. You can’t convince them to let inmates escape.”
The proposed plan is still very early into development. Neither the potential opening date nor the location of such a prison have been determined at this time. Indonesia is known for having some of the strictest laws regarding drugs in the entire world. Under Indonesian law, drug traffickers can be executed by firing squad. The country received international criticism last April when it executed seven foreign drug convicts.
However, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has stated that these harsh penalties are necessary, as the country is up against a “national emergency” of drug use. Even with these incredibly strict drug policies, the country still has a corrupt prison system filled with drugs. The country spends extremely large amounts of money housing drug offenders in prison. A simple offense can land someone in jail for many years,
Indonesian anti-drugs agency spokesperson Slamet Pribadi has confirmed that authorities are heavily looking into the plan to build a special prison for death row convicts. According to Pribadi, only drug traffickers would be housed in the jail. The goal would be to prevent them from mixing with prisoners of other offenses and reduce the amount of gangs in prisons. Currently, the anti-drugs agency is talking to the country’s justice ministry about the plan.
While most countries are taking a step back from the “war on drugs”, Indonesia is continuing to push the envelope. It’s no wonder that the country has one of the highest rates of prison spending in the entire world.
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