Ministry of Home Affairs Website

Historical Background/About the Department

The Tanzania Prisons Service hereinafter ‘The TPS' was officially established as a fully-fledged Government Department on 25th August, 1931 . Prior to that date, the Service was administered under the Police Force. This change did not result in much improvement of prisons conditions as the emphasis remained on safe custody. The incarceration of inmates in maximum security institutions built in major towns and district centers, hard labour and racial segregation in their treatment was a significant feature of the prisons reality. This prisons policy was reflective of its philosophical basis of retribution and incapacitation that prevailed all though the German colonial era ending 1919 and the British protectorate era ending with independence in 1961.

After independence. A new prisons policy was adopted embracing humane treatment of offenders and justice as its core value. The objective was rehabilitation of offenders as a contribution to community safety. In practice, this philosophical shift was manifested by :-

• Introduction of a new legislation, the Prisons Act, 1967 which embodies the spirit of international basic human rights instruments ;
• Establishment of several Open farm Prisons in the rural areas which were designated to be centers of excellence for imparting agricultural skills to inmates and to extend such services to surrounding communities ;
• Establishment of Vocational Training Centers in Mbeya and Morogoro regions for skills-training to inmates. These were linked to the National Vocational Education and Training Authority so that certification of graduates is universally recognized ;
• Expansion of economic projects inside the inherited closed prisons for skills-training for long term prisoners ;
• Establishment of educational programmes of different levels in prisons including adult basic education, general academic subjects and primary school education for school drop-outs at the Young Offenders' Prison ; and
• Adoption of a new training curriculum for prisons staff in line with the new approach whereby observance of human rights was emphasized.

With these new developments, prisons condition began to pick up a more humane face and the image of the TPS was very much enhanced both within and outside the country as of the early 1970s.

Today the TPS consists of 122 institutions, 21 regional offices, two staff training centers, four Vocational Training Facilities and Head Office. The regional offices provide administrative oversight, while the head office effect management and administration of all prisons stations countrywide.

The TPS is responsible for the custody and care of more than 45,000 inmates while its accommodation capacity is 22,669. This implies that the prisons facilities are overcrowded by more than 100 percent.

The service protects public safety by ensuring that all convicts serve their sentences of imprisonment in facilities that are humane, cost-efficient and appropriately secure. The service helps reduce the potential for future criminal activity by encouraging convicts to participate in a range of programmes that have been proven to reduce recidivism.

The service's 11,639 employees ensure the security of prisons countrywide, provide inmates with needed programmes and services.

The Department Current Mandate, Mission and Vision

1.1 Mission of the Service

The Mission of the Prisons Service is to effectively contribute to community safety though adequate custodial sentence management and supervision of offenders, proper management of custodial remand services, design and implementation of programmes and services which address offenders' rehabilitation needs and the offering of policy advice on crime prevention and treatment of offenders.

1.2 Vision of the Service

The Service aspires to become an excellent professional Correctional Service operating along national and international set norms and standards.

The above mission and vision are pegged on the principles that:-

• Those who commit crime should be punished in ways that will eventually rehabilitate them and prevent crimes.
• Ensuring that the court's decisions are enforced provides the best chance of preventing crime and that respect for law is reinforced.
• Knowing that the court's decisions are implemented, that their safety is paramount during the currency of the sentence and that the time under sentence is used effectively to rehabilitate offenders and thereby prevent crimes, protects the public.

From the relevant instruments, statutes and strategic objectives of the Ministry of Home Affairs towards the Service, the Service will strive to achieve the following objectives :-

• To protect the public by holding those committed by the courts in a safe, decent and healthy environment.
• To reduce crime by providing constructive regimes that address offending behaviour, improve educational and work skills and promote law-abiding behaviour in custody and after release.
• To provide the courts and others with high quality information and assessment to assist them in sentencing and other decisions such as on parole, probation or community service.
• To use resources more effectively in the execution of its work.
• To improve the effectiveness of the service in undertaking its responsibilities.

To achieve the above framework the following values and principles will guide the correctional work in the Serice :-

• Respect for human dignity and fundamental human rights
• Treatment of offenders as individuals
• Encourage sentences of non-custodial measures
• Risk assessment and management of offenders
• Co-operation between agencies and with community
•  Development of quality of staff
• Public access to information
•  Responding to changes and challenges
• Provision of essential healthcare
• Maintenance of discipline and order in prisons
• Appropriate care and treatment of remands
•  Co-operation with international organizations