The Government must find ways to prepare prisoners to become productive citizens after serving their sentences in an effort to decrease recidivism said John Carey, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Works and Utilities.
He was addressing a Town Meeting hosted by the Prison Reform Commission held at St. Agnes School Hall on Thursday.
Mr. Carey said that a Prison Industries Program should be researched, planned and introduced within the prison system to feed the dire need for rehabilitation.
The program would also provide significant economic, educational and social benefits to the country he said. It would become the supplier of goods and services to national and local government agencies, public and private educational systems and non-profit organizations which receive government assistance.
Criminal rehabilitation, said Mr. Carey, is of grave concern and requires special focus as the majority of inmates would eventually be returned to society. He said the bulk of rehabilitative resources, criminal educational efforts, and criminal education efforts, and criminal reintroduction schemes are not applied to criminals until they are released from prison.
Yet, while these endeavours are helpful to some ex-convicts, he said, new and innovative programs must be introduced to them within the confines of the prison system.
“We must now steer substantial efforts to programs within the system as this may be the best time and place to capture and motivate the minds of neophyte of hardened criminals,” he said.
“The rehabilitation of persons while outside of the prison system is a more difficult task as these persons have endless distractions and temptations such as alcohol, drugs, and peer pressure, to cloud their minds after release,” Mr. Carey said.
The primary goals of a Prison Industries system should be to supplement the needs of a prison system, furnish government necessities, provide inmate education and training, reduce idleness and costly disruptive behavior behind prison walls by providing legitimate activity he said.
It would also improve the chances of inmates being employed after being released from prison, thus encouraging them to become law abiding citizens.
A prison industry program, said Mr. Carey, would also act as reimbursement for all or a portion of the costs of the inmate’s rehabilitation, housing health care and living costs – reducing the responsibilities of the tax payers.
Mr. Carey said that it would also provide a form of restitution of compensation to victims of crime perpetuated by inmates, particularly through a fund designed for that purpose.
It would also provide financial support for the immediate family of the inmate he said, as well as be a source of payment of fines, court costs, and applicable financial obligations.
“There is more fear and harm caused by those hanging in the balance without skills, the inability to get jobs,” said Mr. Carey.
“The current support systems are flawed and administrative heavy with little benefit flowing down to the ex-convicts and criminals.
Prisoners must be rehabilitated in jail. Trying to rehabilitate them and offer services to them when they come out of prison is pre-stacked for failure,” he said.
“Prison reform in The Bahamas should be about assisting those incarcerated in regaining hope, rebuilding self-esteem and accepting responsibility for previous choices, as well as providing them with the needed tools to do so,” Mr. Carey said.
“We must focus on in-prison rehabilitation, as this may be our only hope to win the battle against crime,” he said.
By Vanessa Rolle, The Nassau Guardian
