Elliston Rahming has admitted that parts of the rehabilitation programme for inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison have failed and that new steps are being taken in a bid to stop criminals re-offending.
Speaking at a lecture series on the topic “Violence: Effective Measures of Control,” the Prison Chief said in the past, all inmates first entering the facility went straight to the Maximum Security unit. A move, he said, that facilitated “orientation through contamination,” and worked against the rehabilitation programme. Dr Rahming said for this reason, the Central Intake Facility was established to cut out the indiscriminate dumping of inmates into one unit, which he said greatly contributes to the population build up.
“This is a philosophical shift from the past,” he added. “The intent is to have apples living with apples and oranges living with oranges. In the past everyone went to maximum security first. If you were there for selling guinep, trespassing or whatever, you began in maximum security. By coming into the Central Intake Facility, we now have a proper reception and orientation regime. Different inmates have different problems. Different inmates have different challenges, and if you take them all and just throw them in a cell, you wouldn’t know what their challenge is.”
Dr Rahming said that the proper intake of inmates greatly contributes to the rehabilitation process as this allows prison workers to determine the special needs of each inmate. He added that in the facility all incoming inmates are assessed, diagnosed and classified based on their special needs. The classification process, he added, determines where each inmate will be held and what kinds of rehabilitation programmes they will be enrolled in. Dr Rahming said after each inmate has been classified, they are moved onto a process called sentence planning where prison workers determine how best to deal with that individual during his stay. He said for inmates serving relatively short sentences, all efforts are made to get them into rehab as soon as possible.
Then there’s the pre-release program, Dr Rahming added, where the inmates are prepared for their release into society. The programme, he said, ensures that before an inmate is released, he or she has a place to stay with people willing to take them in, transportation from prison and other necessities. He was reminded of a case where an inmate had just been released but had nowhere to stay and no one to call. “To me, that’s a classic case of a recidivist,” he said. “If he isn’t back there by now, that would be a miracle. So the pre-release unit is supposed to know these things and make sure that they have family and friends willing to accept them, job interviews lined up just to get them started.”
Dr Rahming added that a Drug Therapy Programme, and a Family Reunification Programme are also in place. The Family Reunification Programme is to ensure that the inmate’s first conversation with his family doesn’t occur when he’s on their doorstep. “Hopefully by next year, we’re going to put it in the budget, so that each inmate can leave with something in his pocket.” Dr Rahming added that an Exit Certificate has also been introduced to provide a document that showcases an inmate’s work and progress during his stay and counters his marred police record.
“Now the day arrives when he is released, this is where rehabilitation really begins,” he said. “When the temptation comes and he [resists], then he has arrived somewhere. Rehab begins in the mind of the offender.”
By IANTHIA SMITH, Guardian Staff Reporter
