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A view of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's bed in his cell inside the Altiplano Federal Penitentiary, where he escaped from, in Almoloya de Juarez, on the outskirts of Mexico City, July 15, 2015. U.S. law enforcement officials met with agents of the Mexican attorney general's office this week to share information related to the escape from prison of Guzman and coordinate efforts to apprehend him, a Mexican government official said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Former Liberal leaders and retired Supreme Court judge John Dowd QC has warned that poor conditions and management of the NSW prison can lead to riots if not paid serious attention to. The congested prison cells, below the mark medical facilities and ban on smoking have been causing a lot of grievances among jail inmates.

He said that even though the Baird government has successfully implemented smoking ban in the prisons, it has also added a new angle to their frustrations at the same time. “The prison system is now well over capacity, with many inmates living three-to-a-cell,” he was quoted by the Australian Associated Press as saying. “And unless more prisons are built or unless the court system gets rid of more cases, then it will continue at the rate that it’s going now.”

For the dramatic increase in the number of inmates in the cells, Dowd has blamed the new laws on bail, growing number of accused people who choose to go for trial rather than plead guilty and the logjams at the district courts.

Two new specialist judges who will preside over cases relating to child sex abuses have already been appointed to the district court by the current attorney general, Gabrielle Upton. Meanwhile, David Elliot, the corrective services minister, have promised to provide 1,000 new beds at Grafton and Parklea for the prisoners.

“If you overheat the system, and take away things like smoking, then you’ve got a formula for problems,” Dowd said. He also added that public is not likely to be concerned about the welfare of the prisoners since they cannot identify with them. But many of the prisoners have been wrongly charged without having committed any offence at all. “And in international terms, we’re a developed community, and we should be looking after these people.”

Dowd addressed a forum in Parliament on Wednesday night to demand a new approach for the state’s prisons. A report from the inspector of custodial services that pointed at the inadequate facilities at the prisons has prompted the forum.

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