THE SITUATION at the newly-opened Horizon Remand Centre, Spanish Town Road, Kingston remained tense yesterday as the Correctional Services were unable to end prolonged conflicts involving warders and inmates under their control.
More than 30 armed inmates who are awaiting trial for various crimes staged a violent protest at the institution on Monday. It took correctional officers and a joint police/military team more than six hours to negotiate with them before they returned to their cells on Monday afternoon.
Reports are that the incident occurred on Section 6 of the penal facility. About 35 prisoners broke into a storeroom and took pieces of iron pipe which they used to smash security cameras, light fixtures and windows.
"They were protesting about visits and the quality of the food," said Deputy Superintendent Delroy Hewitt, operation's officer for West Kingston.
It is also reported that because visits had been organised in alphabetical order, it narrowed down the number of visits. The inmates were also complaining about the quality of the cooked meals offered by government.
TURNED AWAY
A number of visitors who brought in foodstuff Monday turned away because of the protest.
This is the second time since May that inmates at the facility have protested violently. In late May, they held a correctional officer hostage, following a dispute which had developed with the staff.
It took Senior Superintendent Hector 'Bingie' White more than 45 minutes to negotiate with them, before they released the correctional officers and allowed things to return to normal.
An inmate telephoned The Gleaner's news desk on Monday, via a cellular phone, complaining they were being mistreated by the warders. He said this was unfair as they were not yet imprisoned and were still awaiting completion of their court trials.
Asked where he got the telephone, the inmate answered, "from a warder".
Warders have complained that although the institution is regarded as "state of the art", it lacks security and is incomplete. One spokesman for the warders claim that even the locks for the cells do not work.
The police have said that one of the major headaches for the correctional officers is that area dons from inner-city communities have taken control of various sections of the institution. The inmates include members of the Joel Andem Gang as well as trusted lieutenants of Andrew "Phang" Stephens, the late Grants Pen "don."
On Friday, a search by warders produced more than 40 makeshift ice picks, makeshift machetes, ganja and cash. The warders have complained that their numbers were inadequate to maintain calm at the institution.
The Horizon Remand Centre, Jamaica's most modern jail, was built last year at a cost of $440 million. It was built to house more than 1,000 inmates awaiting resolution of their cases. The current population is said to be less than 500 and the staff of warders is also below the required amount.
