Borstal Institutions Act

This Act may be cited as the Borstal Institutions Act.

Provides definitions of terms used in the Act (e.g. "After-Care Committee", "authorized officer", "youthful offender").

An officer referred to as "he" has the power to establish borstal institutions and to order that a borstal institution cease to exist; each borstal institution must include its enclosure grounds and buildings and any other grounds or buildings belonging or attached and used by inmates or staff.

Section lists requisites of a borstal institution: proper sanitary arrangements, water supply, food, clothing and bedding for the inmates.

Before sentencing a youthful offender, a court must consider the evidence about the offender's character and past conduct, the circumstances of the offence, and whether reformation warrants training in a borstal institution.

Courts (High Court, subordinate first-class courts, and juvenile courts) may direct youthful offenders to be sent to a borstal institution for three years after considering the matters in section 5; other courts may commit such offenders to a juvenile court for sentence; juvenile courts must consider the specified matters and may either commit to borstal for three years or deal with the offender as the committing court could.

A prison officer may bring a youthful offender under 18 before the High Court or subordinate court, and that court may direct that the offender serve the unexpired residue of the sentence in a borstal institution for up to three years starting from the date the sentence began.

Before sending a youthful offender to a borstal institution, the court must check that accommodation is available and must not order the sending unless it finds accommodation is available.

Every youthful offender sent to a borstal institution under this Act must be sent to the borstal institution that the Commissioner directs.

The superintendent of a borstal institution must supervise and control the institution, keep records as directed by the Commissioner, and is responsible to the Commissioner for staff and inmate conduct and compliance with the Act and related rules.

Medical officers in borstal institutions must care for inmates' health, arrange medical examinations as prescribed, and may take necessary treatment measures (including forcible measures) with or without consent.

Prison officers on the staff of a borstal institution have the same powers, protections, duties, prohibitions, restrictions, punishments and disciplinary provisions as prison officers under the Prisons Act in relation to prisons and prisoners.

The Commissioner may, at any time and by a written removal order, order that a person detained in a borstal institution be moved to another specified borstal institution.

Superintendent may order an ill inmate removed to hospital on a medical practitioner's advice (or senior officer in emergencies); medical officer must notify superintendent when hospital care no longer required and must take precautions to prevent escape; superintendent must return inmate if still liable to detention.

A medical officer may order that an inmate subject to a borstal order who is of unsound mind be removed to and detained in a mental hospital; the person in charge of the mental hospital must notify the borstal superintendent when the inmate is no longer of unsound mind; section 30 of the Mental Health Act applies on expiration of the sentence as if under a reception order; time detained in the mental hospital counts as part of the inmate's period of detention.

Allows the Commissioner to order that a borstal inmate who is a leper be removed to a leper settlement (subject to written notification from the settlement), and sets duties on the settlement's person in charge and the superintendent about certificates, returns, precautions and permitted measures.

Every inmate of a borstal institution must be subject to the institution's discipline, this Act, and all related rules, orders and directions for the whole period of his detention, whether inside the institution precincts or not.

Males and females shall not be detained in the same borstal institution.

Inmates of a borstal institution must perform work directed by the superintendent, but must not be required to do any work (or work other than light work) if the medical officer so orders.

Persons who escape, run away from their custodian, or fail to return to a borstal institution as specified may have their detention extended by a period equal to the time they were unlawfully at large.

A person summoned to produce someone subject to a borstal order must attend and produce that person; failing without reasonable excuse is an offence and may attract a fine not exceeding one thousand shillings.

Any person who without lawful authority enters or remains in a borstal institution or where its inmates are working, or who takes prohibited photographs or sketches of inmates or objects there, commits an offence and may be arrested without a warrant; offenders face a fine up to 2,500 shillings or up to three months' imprisonment, or both.

If the Commissioner thinks an inmate should no longer be detained in a borstal institution, he may bring the inmate before the original court of conviction; that court may order the inmate to serve a term of imprisonment of up to three years starting from when detention began.

When a court convicts a person of an offence committed while detained in a borstal institution and sentences them to imprisonment, the court must count the unexpired period of detention towards that sentence and must cancel the detention order.

No person shall interfere with the control or supervision conferred by a licence or by section 29 when a person is absent from a borstal institution in pursuance of a licence or is under supervision; anyone who contravenes this is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both.

Removal to or from a borstal institution under the borstal order or under a removal order

A person detained in a borstal institution is deemed to be in the lawful custody of the superintendent; while in a hospital or similar institution under sections 14–16, they are deemed to be in the lawful custody of the officer in charge of that institution.

A court may order the superintendent to produce an inmate in proper custody at the time and place named; the superintendent must bring the inmate and provide for his safe custody; a court may endorse the order to require the inmate to be brought up again.

If the superintendent is satisfied a person behaved well while on licence and the After-Care Committee recommends it, the superintendent may arrange an indentured learnership or apprenticeship contract for that person under the Industrial Training Act, and on arranging such a contract the person shall be discharged from the borstal institution.

Prohibits bringing, placing, supplying, hiding or communicating prohibited articles in relation to borstal institution inmates; specifies prohibited articles, languages for the specification, signatures by the Commissioner or superintendent, and posting location.

Prison officers at a borstal institution may seize articles unlawfully in the institution; the superintendent may order their confiscation, after which they shall be forfeited.

Possession of any article supplied to a borstal institution’s prison officer for use on duty, or of property belonging to a borstal institution, without satisfactorily accounting for the possession is described as unlawful.

Section 52 lists subjects that rules under this section may cover for borstal institutions, including classification of offenders, staff discipline, inmate treatment and punishments, payments for inmate work, photographing inmates, Boards of Visitors, accommodation, labour, disposal of inmate-made articles and unclaimed property.

The Minister must appoint a Board of Visitors for every borstal institution by notice in the Gazette; the Minister may revoke such appointments by Gazette notice. A Board must have at least ten persons and must meet at least four times each year.

The After-Care committee is responsible for hearing inmates' complaints; ensuring compliance with section 4 and proper management; examining the punishment book; ensuring no one is illegally detained; and bringing and reporting welfare-related special cases to the superintendent (who informs the Commissioner) and the Board of Visitors.

Board of Visitors or the superintendent must send a youthful offender to court to re‑determine age if it appears the court's finding of age was incorrect; a court that finds the age incorrect must revoke detention and may re-sentence; the Board of Visitors may initiate an inquiry as to age; no person shall be detained in a borstal institution after attaining twenty-one years.

The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette and from time to time, appoint ministers of any religious faith to be ministers of a borstal institution.

The Minister, a judge or magistrate may visit any borstal institution, exercise the Board of Visitors' powers, and record observations in a visitors' book; the superintendent must inform the Commissioner of those observations.

The Commissioner may grant leave of absence to any inmate of a borstal institution subject to period and conditions he thinks fit, and may revoke that leave and direct the inmate to return for breach of its conditions.

The superintendent may, on recommendation of the After-Care Committee, licence certain long-detained inmates to live under the charge of a named trustworthy person who will supervise them.

Licence may be revoked if the person to whom it was granted has broken any condition of the licence.

The Minister may in writing order any inmate discharged from a borstal institution; the superintendent must ensure inmates are discharged when entitled; inmates under medical treatment shall not be discharged except at their request until the medical officer considers it safe.

After release from detention, persons subject to a borstal order (except those discharged under section 28 or 48) must remain under supervision for one year or a shorter period recommended by the After-Care Committee; they must follow written instructions of the superintendent and may be recalled by the Commissioner if they fail to comply, subject to the Commissioner's opinion that recall is necessary; recalled persons may be detained up to three months or until supervision ends; the Commissioner may direct in writing that supervision cease at any time.

The Minister may prescribe which acts or omissions by inmates are borstal institution offences.

Section title: "Punishment of inmate by principal borstal officer"; mentions "playing games".

The superintendent has the power to punish an inmate, including removal to the penal grade.

The Commissioner may punish an inmate found guilty after inquiry; the superintendent may transfer cases to the Commissioner if his powers are inadequate and must submit the charge, evidence, reasons and inmate representations; the Commissioner may punish, reverse a superintendent's finding, or require further evidence; listed punishments include awards under section 32, deprivation of privileges, loss of grade, confinement up to fourteen days, restricted diet up to fifteen days, and corporal punishment up to ten strokes.

No inmate may be punished for a borstal institution offence until given an opportunity to hear the charge and make a defence.

Inmates are entitled not to be placed on a restricted diet until certified medically fit; persons on a restricted diet are entitled not to be required to perform work.

No corporal punishment may be carried out until 24 hours after the order and a medical officer has certified fitness; a medical officer may give and require orders to prevent injury and may order discontinuation during infliction; corporal punishment must not be inflicted on any female inmate.

The superintendent may order that an inmate be segregated and not work or be associated with other inmates when, in the superintendent's view, segregation is desirable for the institution's good order and discipline.

The superintendent must enter in a register a record of all punishments imposed on inmates, showing each punished inmate's name, the nature of the offence and the extent of the punishment, and the register must be open to inspection by the Board of Visitors.