• Admission of a prisoner to a correctional/ prison facility

Once a prisoner is convicted or remanded in prison by the court of law, he or she is accompanied by a warrant which has his details including full name, sentence given, offence, date convicted etc. The warrant helps the Officer -in- Charge and Reception Officer at that prison to which he or she has been sent to authenticate that indeed the prisoner named on the warrant is the right person. Without that warrant or any other documents as stated in section 55 of the Prisons Act, the Officer -in -Charge will not admit any person at his facility. The following are the procedures followed on admission:

1. Verification of the warrant  by the Reception   Officer/Officer- in- Charge
2. Opening of the docket
3. Calculation of the sentence: Once a prisoner’s warrant is presented, the Reception in- Charge will calculate his or her sentence based on what is stated on the court warrant.
4. Capturing of inmates details: This include: name, sex, case record number, serial number, date of admission, name of the court that convicted the prisoner, date of conviction, offence, sentence, LPD and EPD etc.
5. Taking of the inmate’s right thumb print
6. Recording of his properties: eg money or clothes..
7. Allocation of cell awaiting discharge
8. Calculation of the sentence: Once a prisoner’s warrant is presented, the Reception in- Charge will calculate his or her sentence based on what is stated on the court warrant.

The sentence is calculated in two parts: ·

• The Latest Possible Date of Discharge (LPD): This is the full sentence a convict is expected to serve as stipulated on the court warrant. ·
• The Earliest Possible Date of Discharge (EPD): This is the date which is calculated by removing one third of the sentence of the prisoner from the original sentence (LPD). This is what is referred to as remission.

Realistically, all prisoners serving a period exceeding one month, with exception of those sentenced to death, life imprisonment and those under His Excellency Pleasure (HEP), are discharged on EPD.

 In other words, all prisoners serving period exceeding one month with exception of those mentioned earlier are entitled to remission as provided for by section 109 of the Prisons Act on condition that the prisoner remains disciplined and industrious.

• Discharge of Prisoners

According to the Prisons Act in Section 111, the Officer- in- Charge is responsible for the due discharge from prison of all prisoners under his control upon their entitled thereto.

According to the Prisons Act in Section 111, the Officer- in- Charge is responsible for the due discharge from prison of all prisoners under his control upon their entitled thereto. On discharge of a prisoner, the following procedures are followed: –

1. Prisoner is called at the reception – The reception in-charge goes through the docket to make sure it is the right date of discharge of that particular prisoner –
2. Discharge warrant slip is prepared and given to a prisoner. Anyone discharged from a prison must have a discharge slip. This is a confirmation that such a person has indeed been discharged from prison lawfully.
3. Another thumb print taken against his details in the property book and the register – Officer -in- Charge signs against his name in the property book.
4. Gate keeper also verifies by going through the docket before allowing the prisoner out of the facility – Once gatekeeper is satisfied, he allows the prisoner to leave the facility.

Basis upon which a prisoner could be released

There are many ways in which a prisoner can be released from prison and these include the following:

• Expiry of the sentence: This is where the prisoner has served his/her sentence, that is after the period he or she was serving as stated on the court warrant has expired.
• Presidential Amnesty: This involves the pardon of an inmate by the Republican President either conditionally or unconditionally. The Prisons authorities in various prisons across the country recommends names to the Commissioner General through the Amnesty Committee. After assessment, the commissioner General submits the List to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia through the Minister of Home Affairs for final decision. Presidential Amnesty is provided for under Article 97 of the Constitution Amendment Act No. 2 of 2016. Such releases are common during Africa Freedom Day, Christmas Day and Independence Day and are usually in large numbers. The main benchmarks used to recommend for such include discipline, reformation, type of sentence and industry of a prisoner. Presidential Amnesty can also be considered through the Prerogative of Mercy Committee for long term inmates, lifers, and those on death row who have petitioned His Excellency the Republican President. 
• Parole: This is the conditional release of an inmate serving a sentence of two years and above and remaining with only six months before his EPD or date of discharge. After assessment of the applicants, the Parole Board sends recommendations to the Commissioner General for approval. This is provided for under Section 114 of the Prisons (Amendment) Act no.16 of 2004.
• Compassionate Release This is the discharge from prison of an inmate who has been certified terminally ill by a medical officer and recommended by the Officer -in -Charge through the Regional Commanding Officer for release. It is provided for under Article 111A of the Prisons (Amendment) Act no. 16 of 2004. The medical officer recommends names to the Commissioner General who in turn sends recommendations to the Minister of Home Affairs for final