The general assessment of the crime rate in Malaysia is far from alarming. Except for housebreakings, thefts, and stealing motor vehicles, all other crimes have increased only slightly. There were decreases in some types of crime such as murder, robbery, and extortion. It is inferred that crime in Malaysia is under control because increases in the various crimes have not exceeded the country's population growth of about 2.5 percent per annum. The Prisons Department of Malaysia administers 26 institutions: 18 prisons, 5 borstal schools, 2 rehabilitation centers, and a prison officers' training school. The current total prison population is 9,866 inmates. There has been a drastic rise in the prison population since 1975, resulting in a problem of severe overcrowding. Prisons which used to accommodate 600 inmates in the early 1970's now have to accommodate as many as 1,400 to 2,000 inmates. Most of the prison facilities are old, 19th or early 20th century structures, located in the heart of cities and towns amidst traffic and urban development. However, the department is planning for the construction of new, modern penal institutions since the staff-inmate ratio has become 1:6 at the most overburdened prisons. Prisoners serving life sentences and large numbers of drug offenders further compound the problem of overcrowding. A parole system and other alternatives to imprisonment are in the planning stages. Tables indicate the number of escapes from prisons, inmates' levels of education, the length of prison sentences, and other information including prison operating costs.