Social intervention and prison reform

IN our Tuesday edition this week we reported the Prisons Director, Gladwin Samuels, exhorting that social intervention and support, combined with punishment and encouragement are much more effective in preventing crimes.

He said too that if an inmate is not exposed to opportunities that contribute to positive changes, leaving prison and returning to a life of crime would likely be their first option. Samuels also said several studies have shown that harsher sentences do not necessarily act as deterrents, and may even slightly increase the likelihood of repeat offending and that efforts at punishment without rehabilitation condemn an individual to an existence without hope.

We quoted him as saying, “An existence without hope will invariably lead to recidivism and a life of crime that will further jeopardise our individual and collective security. Our revised laws have not yet been passed to see the GPS move formally to a fully-correctional institution. In our existing laws, however, there are sufficient guidelines that allow us to make rehabilitation a critical part of our mandate. This is an ongoing exercise.”

Society has a responsibility to contribute in influencing a national conversation on the state of our prison system and what we desire of it and a serious conversation must start now. The prison has been and will continue to be an institution in society. Recognising that the prison encompasses people who are citizens, it must not only be looked at as a penal system, but a reformist institution that prepares the incarcerated for re-integration into society.

Addressing reform will require reviewing sentencing based on the type of crime. Innovative ways can be examined to dispense with petty crimes such as stealing a bicycle, wherein justice can be dispensed through community service in a controlled environment. Sentencing for marijuana should also be examined as a matter of priority, including decriminalisation of a certain amount or for medical reason.

President David Granger’s initiative of pardoning young men who had committed non-violent offences must be considered a good intent to kick-start a major prison reformation. The prison population can be placed in several different groups since the one-size-fits-all system is a proven failure. Even as inmates are taught CXC and basic technical education, such can be complemented with programmes like an effective parole system designed towards preparing prisoners for reintegration and reducing the congestion that presently exists.

Every incarcerated individual, outside of those on death row or life imprisonment, is expected to re-integrate into society. Taking cognisance of this reality requires a reform structure that is deep, focused and incisive with consideration for the varied groups. It should be considered that prison life must bring with it, new opportunities or a second chance to pursue a life of legitimacy and productivity through acquisition of knowledge and development of appropriate life skills.

In the wider society, efforts can also be made to empower the citizenry of the various crimes and corresponding penalties via roadway signs, etc., which play a role in deterring crime. Given that the prison system is being managed at a tidy sum to the taxpayers, attention ought to be paid to value for money. Applying this principle can see a system put in place targeting reduction in recurring offenders by separating them from the hardened criminals who can influence them to a life of crime.

Prison reform is possible in the presence of will and commitment, but such must also be seen as a matter of necessity to bring Guyana into the 21st Century.

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