Can "Day Release" Truly and Effectively Solve Overcrowding, Relieve Staff Pressure, and Achieve Correctional Goals?

What kind of imaginations do we hold for the familiar yet unfamiliar term "prison"? Is it a place of prisoner abuse in novels and movies? A comfortable haven where criminals enjoy a life of ease as portrayed by the news media? Or perhaps a den of iniquity teeming with all sorts of characters? What problems actually exist within those high walls where even the sunlight struggles to reach, and how much do we really understand about them?

Recently, in order to address the issue of prisoner reformation, Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san sought to amend the "Day Release Provisions" of the Prison Act, allowing inmates nearing parole or release to "go out to work during the day and return to the prison at night" six months to a year early, thereby helping inmates reintegrate into society ahead of time. This proposed policy has sparked both supportive and opposing discussions.

Today, we invite prison guard Lin Wen-wei and JRF Executive Director Kao Jung-chih to discuss how frontline personnel view the "day release" policy: Can "day release" truly and effectively solve overcrowding, relieve staff pressure, and achieve correctional goals? Furthermore, let us take a look at what prisons look like through the eyes of frontline personnel, and consider how we should view and treat inmates, as well as how to solve these problems at their root.