Reese

Hurricane Dean recently left the Correctional Services - comprising 33 facilities - nursing damage estimated at $59 million in its wake.

Major Richard Reese, commissioner of corrections, told The Gleaner: "We completed our rapid damage assessment one day after the storm, and we also got our estimates within 24 hours."

Of the 13 correctional facilities, the only one which did not suffer major damage was Montpelier Camp, which is the most recently constructed institution.

At the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre, which houses 121 boys, the destruction of a classroom on the second floor of the administrative block was the area of major loss.

Fort augusta flooded

Unlike thousands of Jamaicans still reeling from the impact, a juvenile who resides at the institution said he was safe and secure throughout the passage of Hurricane Dean.

The 201 inmates (inclusive of one infant) at Fort Augusta, who were evacuated to the Horizon Remand Centre prior to the passage of the hurricane, are to remain there until repairs are completed on that facility. The facility suffered both flooding and structural damage.

Major Reese said three blocks at the St. Catherine District Prison, which houses some 1,255 inmates were affected. Damage included the entire rib section of the roof, on the number one block, and sections of the A and B blocks.

"Contractors will start work shortly. Some of the blocks have concrete intermediary roof, so the inmates will not be affected ... repairs are due to begin this week," he said, adding that an early start minimises the problem of what he describes as 'queuing'.

Internal work under way

The Tamarind Farm correctional institution was affected by roofing loss, according to Major Reese. "Most of it (roofing) has been put on temporarily (by inmates)," he reported, adding that work that could be undertaken internally had already begun.

He announced that the services of four contractors to carry out simultaneous construction on the affected facilities had been secured. Building material to effect repairs at the South Camp and Tower Street correctional facilities had already been ordered and materials for other institutions were being hoarded