Having a recidivism rate of 69 per cent, Her Majesty’s Prison on Wednesday was referred to as a “university for criminals.”
Minister of National Security, Cynthia Pratt, told members of the House of Assembly that crime has to be addressed from its root, which lay at the Fox Hill Prison. “I believe that with all my heart,” said Mrs Pratt, making her contribution to the government’s 2004/05 national budget.
The National Security Minister said because the recidivism rate was so high, the government had to be doing something wrong. She added, however, that the prison could not be seen as a problem that was separate and apart from the adverse conditions that existed in society.
“While the overcrowded conditions in Her Majesty’s Prison remain bleak, I can report that the reforms recommended by the Prison Reform Committee are receiving assiduous attention, and in the upcoming fiscal period, $250,000 is provided for the implementation of the prison reform recommendations,” she said.
The Prison Reform Commission was appointed in October 2002 to submit recommendations on the policies, programmes, premises and procedures necessary to overtime transform HMP into a correctional facility, and to considerably lower the high recidivism rate. A report on the commission’s findings was presented to Prime Minister Christie last February.
Mrs Pratt said despite the negative comments aired about the condition of the prison, the government was doing something to clean it up. She mentioned that some of the problems at HMP existed since the 1950s, and would not be corrected in a mere two years.
Presently, Mrs Pratt said, the government was poised to undertake aspects of the structural transformation of the prison. The transformation comprises of two components: Changes to the Prison Act and changes to the organisation of the prison. The amendments to the Prison Act, she said, were undertaken following a detailed and comprehensive review of all aspects of the prison’s administrative structure and system.
“The office of the Attorney General is in the final stages of preparation of the draft of the amendments, and I expect to introduce the proposed amendments in Parliament before the end of this year,” she claimed.
Mrs Pratt told Parliamentarians that some $200,000 had been spent to construct a central facility that was expected to be commissioned at the end of June. The facility will act as a “way station” where sentenced inmates will be held and assessed. The assessment will assist in the determination of the inmate’s classification, education and skills, medical and psychological condition, and whom he will be allowed to come into contract with while in prison.
The National Security Minister also mentioned that the security infrastructure of the prison would have to be upgraded, and this would be brought about by the construction of a 20-feet perimeter wall.
Mrs Pratt outlined that during the 2003/04 fiscal period, a new prison kitchen had been completed and commissioned, and the Ministry of Health had been making incremental improvements in the delivery of health services; there also had been an expansion of the prison’s existing educational and training courses, as well the reactivation of a prison farm and small agricultural programme; substantial refurbishment had also been done to the prison buildings and dormitories.
Appropriations for 2004/05 in the development account for the prison had been increased by almost a half million dollars, said Mrs Pratt. These funds, she said, were adequate to ensure the completion and commissioning of the prison’s educational and technical centre, which will provide facilities for the education and training of inmates, and to launch an innovative and purposeful training programme for prison officers.
By TAMARA McKENZIE, Nassau Guardian Staff Reporter
