Record groups of Department of Nationa Archives

Department of Prisons

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Department of Prisons

Parallel form(s) of name

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

Other form(s) of name

Identifiers for corporate bodies

Description area

Dates of existence

1981-1986

History

The Principle Law relating to Ceylon Prisons is Ordinance No.16 of 1877. The Department of Prisons was established in 1869, upto which year Prisons were in charge of the Fiscal. The general control and superintendence of all prisons was vested in the Inspector General of Prisons and Officer in Class 1, who was also Superintendent of the Convict Establishment. Every Prison had a Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and Jailors. Welikada, Mutwal, Mahara, Hultsdopp and Negombo wer in the Western Province. Kandy, Bogambara, Nuwara Eliya, prisons were in the Central Province. Jaffna Prison was in the Northern Province. Galle, Matara and Tangalle prisons were situated in the Southern Province. Batticaloa and Trincomalee Prisons were in the Eastern Province, Chilaw Prison came under the North Western Province. Anuradhapura Prison was situated in the North Central Province. Badulla Prison was in the Uva Province and Rathnapura and Kegalle Prisons were situated in the Sabaragamuwa Province.
The Prisons Department was responsible for the Rehabilitation of all prisoners and Youthful Offenders committed to Prison and other Training Schools bu the courts of Sri Lanka. It was also responsible for providing training to the Prisoners to enable them to take up to vocations after they were released from prison.
The Commissioner of Prisons is the Head of the Department of Prisons and functions under the Ministry of Justoce. The Department administers all prisons. Training Schools for Youthful Offenders, Open Prison Compound, Fiscal Lock-ups. There are two training programmes under the Prisons Department known as (a) Agricultural and (2) Industrial

Places

Legal status

Functions, occupations and activities

Mandates/sources of authority

Internal structures/genealogy

General context

Relationships area

Control area

Description identifier

LK-NA/DP

Institution identifier

LK-NA

Rules and/or conventions used

ISAAR

Status

Final

Level of detail

Minimal

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Language(s)

  • English
  • Sinhala

Script(s)

  • Latin

Sources

Maintenance notes