(Go Jamaica) Plans by the United Kingdom (UK) to deport Jamaicans convicted in that country could create diplomatic problems between the UK and Jamaican governments.
A report out of Great Britain suggests that the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron wants to send home prisoners from Jamaica and other nations, when they’re imprisoned, even if they do not consent to be sent home.
About 942 Jamaicans head the list of foreigners in the British prison system to be deported to complete their sentences.
Jamaica is followed by Nigeria and the Irish Republic on the UK’s list.
According to the British prime minister, it costs taxpayers £38,000 to keep someone in jail for a year.
He said his administration hopes to reduce the prison population to 3,000 by 2014, rather than add 8,000 extra places that the previous government said would be needed.
The decision by the British government would run contrary to the existing arrangements between Jamaica and the UK.
The Jamaican Government has signalled that it will not accept any plans by the United Kingdom to unilaterally change the deportee arrangements to suit its purpose.
Jamaican prisoners in Britain are removed from that country under prisoner transfer agreements between the UK and Jamaica under an early removal scheme.
The agreement allows the release of prisoners up to 270 days early if the inmate agrees to be deported immediately or after their sentences have ended.
In the meantime the National Security Minister Dwight Nelson said he was not privy to any information in relation to changes to the deportees existing prior to reading Cameron’s comment in the Daily Mail.
