With an inmate population of 1884, Guyana’s prison system is currently accommodating more than 500 persons over its capacity, according to Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels, who says urgent attention needs to be given to alternative sentencing.
Speaking at a press conference on the US$8 million Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB)-funded Support for the Criminal Justice System (SCJS) programme to reduce the prison population in Guyana, Samuels yesterday also reported that almost 40% of the current inmate population represents pre-trial detainees.
He noted that the capacity of the Guyana Prison Service was significantly decreased over the last three years with destruction caused by fires in 2017 and 2020 at the Camp Street and Lusignan prisons, respectively.
Taking into consideration the Holding Bay at the Lusignan Prison, which was not structurally designed as a prison, Samuels said the prison population is over capacity by 561 prisoners or 29.7%.
The current inmate population at the Lusignan Prison is 1323, with around 400 being accommodated in the Holding Bay.
Of the current prison population, he said 744 prisoners are pre-trial detainees, comprising 340 inmates on remand and the remaining 404 awaiting trial.
As it relates to convictions, Samuels said 1140 prisoners were sentenced, 127 of whom have since filed for appeals.
A situation like this, according to Samuels can be “extremely” problematic and therefore he said that the lack of use of alternative sentencing as currently provided for in the laws is something that ought to be given urgent attention.
It is against this background that Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who was also at the news conference, said that efforts are underway to accelerate the programme, which is aimed at reducing the amount of prisoners who are pre-trial detainees and increasing the use of alternative sentencing.
The IDB-funded project, which commenced in 2017, is managed by the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
According to Nandlall, prison overcrowding is not necessarily a consequence of rising crime rates but can also be attributed to criminal justice policies.
“The use of pre-trial detention is a contributing factor to the overcrowding conditions in the prison,” Nandlall said, before also citing the low use of available alternatives to imprisonment and the absence of the use of alternative sentencing options for minor and non-violent offenders as also being among contributing factors.
“The tendency for stricter law enforcement and sentencing is a specific problem that results in significant increases in prison population by locking up persons charged with petty, non-violent offences,” he added.
Nandlall further noted that persuasive evidence suggests that the escalating incidents of incarceration in Guyana are directly related to the overreliance of the criminal justice system on incarceration as an effective tool for addressing deviant conduct.
“This phenomenon obtains although there is little evidence on the effects on imprisonment on deterring crime,” Nandlall said. On the contrary, he said prison sentencing seems to have no deterrent effects when compared to alternative non-custodial sentences.
Nandlall also pointed out that overcrowding is generally associated with considerably negative effects on the physical and mental wellbeing of prisoners, violent incidents and numerous safety management challenges.
“Potential negative consequences of incarceration have been associated with, one, an individual’s future proclivity for crimes due mainly to social interaction in which persons in custody can learn new skills as their human capital depreciates; two, feelings of resentment against society and strengthen of an offenders deviant identity; and thirdly, decrease of bonds to institutions, such as family, employment, school and conventional norms,” he explained.
(Additionally, Samuels noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the prison’s ability to rehabilitate prisoners since the areas which were initially designed to facilitate recreation and rehabilitation for inmates are now being used to accommodate them. “So our ability to affectively rehabilitate and prepare prisoners for reintegration has also been significantly diminished,” he said.)
From the inception, Nandlall said, the programme has worked closely with a number of stakeholders, including the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Police Force and the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), to collaboratively achieve the reformation of the criminal justice system.
With the inputs of these stakeholders, he added, that the programme has employed a number of measures and embarked on a number of activities which will all culminate in addressing the general problem of the prison overcrowding.
From 2017 to now, Samuels noted, the prisons have been able to reduce its inmate population by 150 based on interactions with the judiciary. Among the prisoners who were released were those who couldn’t afford to post bail, bail reductions and those who had almost completed their sentences.
Prosecution and law reform
Nandlall said the strengthening of the prosecutorial arm of the state and the establishment of a Law Reform Commission are among the other components which are currently being implemented under the programme.
He reiterated that plans are ongoing to improve the prosecution in the magistracy by recruiting and training persons who have law degrees but have not yet completed law school.
He explained that negotiations have already begun with the University of Guyana (UG) for it to conduct a one-year prosecutorial programme which will be certified. Currently, he said, the building of a syllabus is under procurement and once a consultant is hired, drafting of a course online will commence followed by the commencement of training. “Needless to say that the police prosecutors programme will also be merged into that university programme for prosecutors and the graduates of that programme will then enter the prosecutorial arm of the state at all magistrates’ courts throughout the country,” Nandlall stated.
The AG explained that a database is already being compiled of persons who are qualified to enter the programme once it starts. “Those are the LLB holders and the response has been remarkable….It is our view that once that programme gets up and running, it will transform the prosecutorial landscape of our country,” he said.
The AG further explained that he believes that once a trained prosecutor is present, all avenues that the law provides for alternative sentencing will be put into use and there will be a swift reduction is custodial sentences for non-violent offenders.
“We believe also that a properly trained prosecutor will be able to take advantage of the devices that are currently in the law, for example, plea bargaining. Right now we have plea bargaining legislation but it is highly underutilised, where the criminal justice system can be saved months of work and millions of dollars in resources if plea bargaining arrangements can be struck,” he said.
Additionally, Nandlall stated that there is need for law reform, which he was unable to pursue during his previous stint as Attorney General. Prior to 2012, he said a law revision exercise was held in Guyana in 1978.
One of the first tasks of the Law Reform Commission, he said, will be to carry out a law revision exercise and bring laws back up to date as of 2020. “So when you pick up the Laws of Guyana, it has in it the laws of Guyana as of 2020, December 31, 2020,” he noted.
The Commission, according to Nandlall is also expected to hire researchers, social scientists, financial minds and persons trained in different disciplines, who will constantly review issues arising in the country and then consider whether a legislative solution can be found or whether issues require legislation as a component of a solution. “Legislation may not be the only solution or the absolute solution but it can be one of the measures which can bring some type of rectification to the problem at hand and that is the main task of a Law Reform Commission,” he said.
Nandlall related that Cabinet has since approved for the commission to include members who are not lawyers.
Other initiatives that the programme is expected to yield include the implementation of bills dealing with bail and the probation of offenders as well as leadership development training and sentencing guidelines.
