Concluding that the senior prison staff apparently lack the ability to negotiate with aggressive prisoners, the Prison Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has recommended that there be a structured training programme with special courses that will see this deficiency being addressed.
The 104-page final report, which was handed over to President David Granger last month but not yet made publicly available, also addressed the issue of staff shortage and urged that the current complement be immediately increased. The CoI was done following the deaths of 17 inmates during unrest and fire at the Camp Street prison on March 3. It found that the prisoners were mostly responsible for the deaths but also highlighted a number of institutional deficiencies.
“There appears to be an apparent lack of negotiating skills by senior administrators to quell prisoners’ aggressive behaviour. The argument can also be made that the prisoners were very enraged and reasoning seemed impossible and that things happened so fast that negotiation became impossible. However, the ability to engage and negotiate with prisoners under such circumstances is critical,” the report said.
On the issue of staffing, it said that the current set up is “a recipe for continuous disturbances and security threats to the community at large.” According to the report, the custodial staff ratio to the inmate population was 38/996. “This is a recipe for institutional deficiencies and has manifested in so many forms that has rendered the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) as lacking the capabilities to address its institutional challenges,” the report said.
It pointed out that importantly, this creates staff fatigue and non-responsiveness as prisoners’ subcultures are stronger than the officers’ culture of unity and professionalism.
“Limited staffing contributes to lack of training as ranks and officers cannot be adequately trained due to constant staff shortage. This develops a culture of incompetence and lack of professionalism. Inadequate staffing over the years contributed to the current state of crisis management and custodial responsiveness within the service,” the report concluded.
Further, it highlighted that there is limited qualified staff and training facilities to have prisoners adequately engaged in rehabilitative training opportunities. The report pointed out that this shortage allows for “boredom and the manifestation of illegal and disruptive behaviour among them.”
According to the report, a number of prisoners exhibit a limited sense of lawful goal-oriented behaviour on their discharge from prison. This, it said has a strong correlation to higher incidents of recidivism.
The CoI has recommended that custodial staffing be increased immediately to match the operational and management readiness of the GPS. The ratio of female to male custodial staff should be reviewed in the increase, it urged.
The report also recommended that the Prison Service adopt a management philosophy that encompasses modern principles of justice, management, training, humane conditions, discipline and use of force.
Further, it recommended that the training of ranks be structured in keeping with promoting management efficiency and a career development path in the GPS. “Special courses that must be included in training are correctional leadership, modern correctional philosophy, control and restraints, developmental psychology, intelligence gathering, ethics in Corrections and managing security threats groups,” it stated.
The report also said that the Strategic Plan (2010-2020) is a vehicle/platform to develop the GPS and must be pursued intentionally and strategically.
It was stated too that there needs to be an increase in the capability of custodial supervisory staff in the short term and this can be done by recruiting retired senior Non Commissioned Officers from the Guyana Defence Force. “They must be carefully selected and appropriately trained to perform their new duties in keeping with modern prison philosophy,” the report said.
The CoI also made a number of recommendation as it relates to the welfare of prison staff. It has been recommended that the emoluments of prison staff be increased “commensurately with the daily risk they face in the execution of their duties in a highly stressful and dangerous environment.”
The report said that there should be a special insurance scheme established and supported by government to compensate officers in case of injuries or death while executing their daily duties. The threats of physical and psychological harm to officers and families must be dealt with “swiftly and effective manner within the legal framework,” the report said adding that the Prison Officers Association must operate more effectively to advocate for better working conditions for officers.
It was also stated that the heroic acts of prison officers, prisoners and other Joint Services members ought to be recognised in appropriate ways. The report said that the Prison Administration should develop a system to honour outstanding officers and ranks for their long and meritorious services.
With regard to the welfare of the prisoners, the report said that their living conditions ought to be improved to “reflect states of humanity and dignity.” It stated that training programmes for prisoners and their training facilities must match the concepts of modern penal philosophy to reduce “recidivism and criminality among incarcerated offenders.”
According to the report, the Probation and Social Services Department must play its institutional role in the prisons more effectively
It also recommended that the capability of the medical facility within the prison be improved so the healthcare of prisoners can be expeditiously addressed with no need for them to be taken to the hospital for routine tests.
