Editorial | ‘Ah just so de ting set’

The event was designed to heap praises on members of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), but Minister of State for National Security, Zavia Mayne, also seized the opportunity to call out rogue warders.

Speaking at the recent long service awards function of the DCS, Mr Mayne said this:

“I am not fooling myself, because, when a man enters into the walls of our correctional system, a very detailed search is conducted, and if everybody who has walked through is properly checked, how then, two weeks later, or a month later, when you go in a man cell, yu find ganja and you find cellphone? Where did that come from?”

That’s a question for the leadership of the DCS to answer.

Meanwhile, Mr Mayne urged the officers to be unbending in their efforts to fight crime. He cautioned that they would be failing in their duty to society, if they were to facilitate criminal behaviour on the part of the inmates.

Sadly, when serious questions are raised about events that affect the smooth running of an agency or department of government, no corrective measures are implemented. In fact, there is usually a deafening silence.

FAMILIAR RITUAL

Reports of contraband being found during prison raids is a familiar ritual. At other times, there have been serious allegations of high-profile inmates being let out for special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries. But these alleged breaches are rarely investigated and, if they are, the public is never made aware of the findings. Allegations are made and life goes on without a pause. It would therefore be foolhardy to expect anything to turn on Mr Mayne’s observations. In local parlance, “ah just so de ting set”.

Are there correctional officers in the business of facilitating the introduction of contraband items in the prisons? Do they willingly facilitate the activities of criminal gangs within the prison? Are these officers paid for their efforts? Are there officers who profit from selling drugs, liquor, SIM cards and phone chargers to prisoners? Surely, any such accommodation would be a violation of the policies and procedures of the department, and are matters that require thorough investigation. At the very least, the public should be told how these violations are being addressed.

It might be that visitors are to be blamed for bringing contraband into the prisons. This is where technology comes in when CCTV cameras and X-ray body scammers, or even sniffer dogs, are used to ensure visitors are not the source of illicit items. Alas, it was recently reported that the cameras were not being used because of a shortage of personnel.

RARITIES

Disappointingly, for all the piles of contraband found in prisons, sacking of correctional officers, or arrest and conviction are rarities.

In defence of the inadequacies in the management and operations of the prisons, one expects to hear the argument that there is not enough funding to complete prison reform or make the necessary changes. But the impact of delay includes overcrowding; long pre-trial waits; harsh, often filthy conditions; and, inevitably, the lack of effective rehabilitation efforts.

Mr Mayne touched on the matter of rehabilitation of convicts, which he believes should be ordered by a court of law.

Experts have long debated the effects of rehabilitation, and they say it is impossible to make that causal link between rehabilitation and recidivism. However, it seems like a good thing to assist prisoners in learning skills in order to boost their chances of finding jobs to support themselves on being released from prison.

At a time when people are justifiably looking to the Government for definitive action on crime, the justice system, including the prisons, has to function better by being part of the solution and not the problem.