The highly anticipated Prison Reform Commission report, which took four months to compile, was presented to Prime Minister Perry Christie and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt, at Cabinet Office on Monday.
The review, presented in two volumes by Commission Chairman Dr. Elliston Rahming, contains nearly 300 specific recommendations.
The first volume focuses on overall issues related to prison reform, and the second highlights matters related to safety and security.
Dr. Rahming is hopeful that many of the recommendations “would be deemed sound and affordable and the report will indeed become a blueprint for reform of our penal institution.”
And, while noting that there is too much crime in The Bahamas, Dr. Rahming said it is a problem that can be fixed. He outlined three things that must be done in the short term to reduce the rate of crime in society.
Firstly, Dr. Rahming said: “Invest in better understanding the problem through research, focus groups, town meetings, seminars and yes, commissions. Some say we’ve had enough talk, and I say that is precisely our problem. For far too long we have talked to the criminal and to the youths. We haven’t talked with them. I say let’s talk with them, not just to them.”
Secondly, he noted that “the Government and the people should invest in allocating resources necessary to ensure that our crime fighting agencies are equipped scientifically, technologically, motivationally and attitudinally to wage a successful assault.”
Thirdly, Dr. Rahming said “the Government and the people must invest in helping to remove the social conditions that are heavily associated with criminal tendencies.”
On the question of prison reform, the Commission noted that most of those who commit serious crimes in The Bahamas have been imprisoned before.
“To the extent that we bring about a higher degree of rehabilitation, we reduce re-offending and hence, we reduce recidivism,” Dr. Rahming stated.
“Prison reform is imperative because the typical inmate has never succeeded at any legitimate pursuit. The extent to which the incarceration experience can imbue him with positive goals and the tools to achieve them. The greater the chance of elevating his self-esteem, and his belief that he can make it through legitimate pursuits.
“Prison reform is necessary because incarceration is not just about conditions of confinement; it is equally concerned with conditions of employment. If we make prison a living hell for those sentenced there, we also create a living hell for those who work there,” Dr. Elliston said.
In the report, the Commission also presented an overall 160-page strategic review of Her Majesty’s Prison, a 60-page Security and Safety Audit, and a Draft Inmate Handbook which they feel is essential in order for an inmate to approach incarceration with a perspective towards change.
“No one denies that conditions at Her Majesty’s Prison are bad. No one disputes the fact that the institution is oppressive and dehumanizing in its orientation. Yet there is a recidivism rate that is fast approaching 70 percent,” Dr. Rahming noted.
But, he said, regardless of the true reality, society can not abandon the struggle. “Ninety-five percent of those incarcerated will be released at one time or the other. It is therefore in society’s interest to constantly seek ways to reform its penal institution with a view towards enhancing rehabilitation, strengthening reintegration and thereby, reducing recidivism,” he said
And while the Commission acknowledges that society has a right to be protected from those who have wreaked havoc and sowed mayhem throughout the community, it has rejected dehumanisation and humiliation as effective rehabilitation tools.
“What is being proposed is an ethical approach to corrections characterised by the abiding respect for the human person; an unflinching regard for the need of law-abiding citizens to be protected against home-grown assailants; and an obligation to ensure that when a wrongdoer wishes to turn his life around, society has in place the philosophy, policies, programmes, personnel and premises conducive to positive change,” Dr. Rahming said.
Accordingly, Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday predicted that the Prison Reform Commission’s report will have far reaching effects not only for The Bahamas, but the Caribbean region.
“I believe that these reports will impact the Caribbean, this region, because leaders of the region are grappling in each of their countries with this extraordinary escalation of violent crime, and crime generally, and they are seeking solutions.
“I believe the work of this Commission will establish a modality for other countries to follow, because when taken in context with the work that will go on in civil society this will prove to be the defining moment in a comprehensive assault on the deviant conduct in our country,” Mr. Christie noted.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Cynthia Pratt, the country must seek to tackle crime from the root.
“There is no point in cutting the tree from the leaves, because the root is in the ground and the ground is the prison. If we do not attack it from the root all we are doing is putting a on a wound that has already penetrated to the bone or to the very core,” she said.
“I believe my prime minister supports me wholeheartedly in my belief, that we must address the matter of the prison and when we would have done that, then we would begin to see lives change and transform,” she added.
Prior to the reports implementation, the review will be shared with Cabinet and then the public.
The public has been assured that the report will not fall into obscurity.
By Keva Lightbourne, The Nassau Guardian
