During the feudal system, prisons were only for the royal families and the wealthy classes. At that time, prisons were built in royal palaces and forts. Ordinary and poor people were immediately punished for wrongdoing. As society gradually transitioned from a feudal system to a capitalist system, prisons became centers of punishment for maintaining regimes. During the British rule in India, jails were penal centers where people who reacted against the government were punished. The old School of thought on treatment of inmates and administration of Prisons were based on retribution, deterrence and such other punitive measures. The emphasis on punishment has gradually been replaced by modern concepts on safe custody, correction, reformation, welfare, rehabilitation and resocialisation. In order to achieve these goals and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, an act "The Kerala Prison & Correctional Services (Management) Act 2010" was enacted in the year 2010. The Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules, 2014 were enacted by section 99 of this Act on 23rd May, 2014.
The basic duty and responsibility of prisons department is to provide safe custody of all persons committed to jails by any competent authority having jurisdiction and power under any law for the time being in force. All persons admitted to the Jail are given hygienic living conditions, adequate food, clothing and medical care as envisaged in the law. The prisons department's endeavor is to achieve the objectives of correction, reformation and rehabilitation of inmates including effective vocational training. By considering the inmates as human resources rather than as individuals, there is an intensive effort to make them self-sufficient in the fields of veterans by understanding the skills and abilities without considering the academic qualification. During this period, prisons became centers of correction rather than centers of punishment. Hence jails are named as Prison & Correctional Home.
The mission of Kerala Prisons & Correctional Services is to take adequate steps for safe custody, correction, reformation and rehabilitation to transform inmates into self-sustainable individuals with acceptable social behaviour when released back to society.