Rehab centres manned by private security
Published:Thursday | January 23, 2014 | 12:00 AM
COMMISSIONER OF Corrections Jevene Bent has said a shortage of human resources to man the rehabilitation centres islandwide has forced the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to hire private security to oversee the prisons.
Addressing the Internal and External Affairs Committee of Parliament on Tuesday, Bent said the DCS did not have the required ratio of staff to prisoners at this time. At present, security guards were being used at three major correctional institutions.
The commissioner of corrections also divulged that hundreds of correctional officers were employed on a temporary basis. She said attempts were being made to increase the establishment of the DCS so that these persons could be taken on permanently.
In a related matter, Bent told members of the committee that the inadequate staffing and structural issues were impacting the Horizon Remand Centre, which was built to house 1,000 remandees. At present, the facility is operating far below its capacity.
Giving details about the problems, Bent said locks that were installed at the facility years ago could not function. She said it was costing a lot of money to retrofit them.
However, committee member Mikael Phillips charged that the contractor who completed the facility should be asked to carry out repairs at his expense. "Too often, we make these things slide at the expense of the taxpayer," Phillips said.
LONGSTANDING ISSUE
Committee Chairman Derrick Smith, who once held the national security minister portfolio, noted that the issue of the malfunctioning locks had been around for nearly 10 years.
"The situation is almost a scandal because if we can have a situation like that existing for so long over different administrations, notwithstanding the constraints of funds, there must be a reason why nothing has happened over the period," Smith commented.
Responding to the concerns, permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Major General Stewart Saunders, said most of the locks at Horizon were replaced, but he was unable to tell if action was taken against the contractor.