(Jamaica Gleaner) Senior national security operatives are probing a major security breach at one of Jamaica’s maximum-security prisons that resulted in hardened criminals hosting a marijuana-laced and liquor-filled Christmas party on its compound.
The investigation was sparked by the discovery of photographs of the prison party that were sent to a photolab to be processed. A highly placed source inside the prison system told The Sunday Gleaner that at least one correctional officer had taken the pictures of the prisoners puffing weed and throwing back all kinds of libation to the pounding sound of the latest music.
“A breach of this nature cannot be allowed to happen again. The Ministry of National Security is aware of the situation and is expected to commence an investigation.
“They were drinking Alozade, Hennessy, rum, rum cream – all expensive high-end stuff. There is no evidence to show that officers were drinking, but one of them took the pictures,” he said.
According to the informant, the implicated correctional officer has not denied taking the pictures of the partying prisoners.
“He said the bottles were filled with water and that weed was a regular occurrence seen since joining the system.”
Steps are being taken to interdict the officer.
Contacted for comment, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Prendergast, head of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and commissioner of corrections, confirmed the security breach which occurred on or around December 27, 2011.
“It is a very serious breach and it is something that I am obviously taking very seriously. We have sent off a request to the Ministry of National Security for their inspectorate to do a formal investigation into the matter,” the prison boss said.
He continued: “I got my hands on about 121 photographs from a photo lab. These photographs were handed in to be developed by a correctional officer.”
The prison boss, who still seemed stumped by what he saw in the pictures he received during the first week of 2012, said what was shown were inmates having a normal Christmas-time party with additional food etc.
Very expensive alcohol
“But what was present in the photographs appeared to be alcohol of assorted kinds. I won’t go into the brands but some were very expensive alcohol. Now, alcohol is contraband inside our institutions. What was (also) visible were inmates using what appeared to be cellphones and what appeared to be ganja spliffs. They were also dressed in very expensive clothing, designer track shoes, designer clothes,” he added.
The only element apparently missing from the merrymaking at the maximum
security facility were the dancing girls.
The commissioner explained that his department stumbled upon the cache of photos by chance. “One of my senior staff went to the photo lab to do some personal business and the photo lab was complaining that a particular officer had given out these 121 photographs to be printed and was now refusing to pay for them,” he disclosed.
According to Prendergast, the senior staff member suggested that the commissioner of corrections could be able to assist and asked to see the photographs.
Sunday Gleaner sources said prison officials had not yet determined how many prisoners were involved in the jamboree.
Meanwhile, Prendergast said he could not give too much information as the matter was still being investigated, but the implicated correctional officer has already been interrogated.
Prendergast also told The Sunday Gleaner that he has already convened two high-level meetings with his senior management team and made it clear that he did not believe that breaches of this nature are confined to the Tower Street facility.
In addition, the commissioner of corrections pointed out that this breach and other factors fuelled his decision to pull out all the stops to find the necessary funds to put all inmates in prison clothes.
“Because we don’t have uniforms, we allow civilian clothes, but we try to minimise the amount of clothes they have and we try to keep it reasonable.
“Now what these photographs showed is that they were allowed to keep things well beyond what we would think is sensible and what would be required for an inmate who is doing time,” Prendergast said.
