| – Staggering 26:1 inmate/officer ratio highlights plight The ever-increasing prison population has underscored the urgent need for an aggressive approach to recruit additional and qualified human resources within the Guyana Prison Service.This was highlighted at last Saturday’s Retreat at the Grand Coastal Hotel, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, which was hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with the management of the Guyana Prison Service.Within recent years, the prison population has grown disproportionately with the level of staff to man the various penal facilities throughout the country.Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and Director of Prisons Dale Erskine (centre) with other officers outside the Georgetown Prison. Presently, the ratio at the main penal institution in the city stands at a whopping 26 to one in terms of inmates to prison warders.At the Georgetown Prison, inmates on remand alone stand at a staggering figure above 800 and with the penchant of Magistrates to remand persons, it is expected that the situation will continue to overwhelm prison authorities if they fail to attract adequate staff.The situation has become so dire that on several occasions, prison authorities have been faced with mini-riots and threats of unrest.In addition to the staffing problems, participants of the retreat also deliberated on several broad areas, including Correctional Measures; Prison Rehabilitation Programmes; Welfare Issues; Custodial and Non-Custodial Capacity Constraints; Recruitment and Training; Strategic and Succession Planning; Prison Enterprise Development; the establishment of an Agriculture Development Board, and the application of appropriate technology for the all-round development of the prison.Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, in his opening remarks at the forum, called for the urgent correction of extant deficiencies, both at the custodial and non-custodial levels, as well as in respect of other services provided by the Guyana Prison Service.Certain deficiencies, the Minister proffered, would have to be addressed at the policy level; the management level, and at the individual level.As the country’s primary detention/correctional facility, the Minister expressed the view that with greater technological application in the activities of the Guyana Prison Service, the organization can be propelled to a higher level of efficiency, as is evident in other societies.He challenged the Guyana Prison Service to consider moving closer to a correctional service, and to establish its own website, to serve the information needs of the wider society.Also high on the agenda during the deliberations was the increasing incidence of prohibited items being smuggled into the prisons.Ways and means of stamping out the smuggling/trafficking of prohibited items, in the prison, such as cell phones, was discussed at length and innovative counter measures considered for implementation.Only recently a prison warder was arrested after a quantity of prohibited items, including marijuana and a cellular phone, were found on his person inside the walls of the Georgetown Prison.A little over a year ago, correctional experts had pointed to the fact that prohibited items within prisons are facilitated by the officers themselves.Another key area discussed was the operationalization and status of trade shops at the respective prison locations as a means of providing skills training for inmates, and as part of the Prisoners’ Rehabilitation Programme.The Ministry of Home Affairs has provided significant tools/equipment to the Trade Shops, for this purpose.It is envisaged that the Trade Shops will eventually evolve to be engines of a vibrant Prisons’ Enterprise Development programme.Meanwhile, Officers-in-Charge of each prison location identified the challenges facing them and put forward proposals for resolving those challenges.The Retreat received a report on a recently formulated 2010-2015 Strategic Plan for the Prison Service.The plan is to be further examined and discussed at various levels of government, in the coming weeks.Among the decisions taken at the Retreat was to establish an Agriculture Development Board, to oversee the growth and development of the agriculture sector of the Prison Service.Also, the Retreat called for the establishment of a Sentence Management Board and the institution of an internal cadetship programme.Further decisions were also taken on prisoners/officers training; enhancement of prison trade shops; building correctional/custodial capacity; placing greater emphasis of welfare issues and the development of a canine section.***************************Good Hope vigilante death….Suspects could remain on bail indefinitelyIt has been almost three weeks since five residents of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, were released on $200,000 bail each, and investigators are still to come up with charges stemming from the beating to death of a burglar.Investigators say they are still awaiting a post mortem examination on the body of the burglar who had given his name as Kurt Myers of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, shortly before he succumbed at the Georgetown Hospital.However, no one has so far come forward to identify the dead burglar in order to facilitate the post mortem.Five persons were detained after police received a statement implicating them in the beating of the burglar. They include two brothers who had confronted the burglar in their house. The brothers received injuries during the confrontation.Crime Chief Seelall Persaud yesterday acknowledged that the absence of the post mortem was one aspect that is stalling the case.However,China NFL Jerseys, he pointed out that the men could remain on station bail indefinitely, since there is no time limit on indictable matters such as the case in question.“We would normally give time for the post mortem to be completed but there will be a time when we will go ahead (in the absence of proper identification),” the Crime Chief told this newspaper.There have been concerns raised over the detention of the residents with many pointing to the fact that they were protecting their lives and property.However, since a life has been lost, investigators have no other alternative but to arrest those they feel were responsible.The men could face possible manslaughter charges. |
