SONGS of praise reverberated within the walls of the Georgetown Prison, Camp Street, in the city on Sunday, as the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), which has the responsibility for custody and retraining of persons committed to the Prison, and to engage in economic and other social programmes supportive of national objectives, hosted its 26th Thanksgiving Service.

In the front row, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, Director of Prisons Dale Erskine, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Ms Angela Johnson, and Deputy Director of Prisons, Mr. Poshanand Tahal, along with Officer in Charge of the Georgetown Prisons Senior Superintendent Trevor Small, seated behind Tahal, paying rapt attention to Pastor Richard James (inset)

The traditional service, also held at other prison locations in New Amsterdam, Lusignan, Mazaruni and Timehri, led the start of a week of activities in observance of 26th Prison Service Week .

This year’s observance ends on October 3, and is themed ‘Year of Discipline, Commitment and Accountability’.

The service at the Camp Street penitentiary was held in the chapel where Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee and his Permanent Secretary Ms Angela Johnson joined, Director of Prisons Dale Erskine, his Deputy Mr. Poshanand Tahal, Senior Superintendent of Prisons and Officer in Charge of the Georgetown Prisons Mr. Trevor Small, Prison Chaplain Reverend Fay Clarke, members of the Ex-Prison Officers Association, representatives of sister Joint Services organisations, invited guests and other senior and junior officers, along with a representative body of the inmate population in worship.

A composite of those in attendance

And, as is customary, the remaining inmate population and officers on duty participated by way of a public address system strategically mounted in the prisons compound for the occasion.

Minister Rohee, in a message read by Prison school teacher Abeinie DeCunha, fervently implored the GPS to, even in their celebrations, not ever forget the primary role of the institution .

He urged that the GPS use the week to reflect and review with the aim of providing a better quality of service to the country.

Noting that the Ministry is “very conscious and appreciative” of the role the GPS plays in society, the Minister assured that the necessary guidance will continue to be provided so as to bring about a significant improvement in the quality of management of the prison facilities. Alluding to the role of the GPS, Minister Rohee noted that it is tied into the entire law enforcement and justice system; and without the existence of an efficient prison management system, problems can surface in the entire judicial and law enforcement process.

The Joint Services Choir offers a song.

He also urged the GPS to seek to develop adequate training programmes for staff, who ultimately have to ensure that prisoners are as far as possible rehabilitated through the implementation of appropriate training programmes that will enable them to re-integrate into society.

In his address, Director of Prisons Erskine acknowledged that the celebrations are taking place at a time when the relevance of the GPS as a criminal justice institution has attracted “higher public visibility as our major stakeholders increase their expectations that we deliver a better quality of service.”

He reminded that the institution continues to face many challenges, as it seeks to effectively execute its mandate of safe custody and retraining of inmates, but noted that the administration has implemented a number of “innovative and procedural changes” in order to deliver a more professional, accountable and higher quality of service to both the public at large and the inmate population.

Remarking that the Directorate is of the firm view that the desired outcomes of the strategic interventions cannot be realised if resources, competences and attitudes are not aligned appropriately and sufficiently, Erskine added that the demand is that all staff members “act with a deep sense of resoluteness, purpose and unity in order to compensate for any deficient resources that may limit our potential to deliver better a quality of services.”

Speaking directly to staff members, the Director lauded them for the selfless services they continue to perform unnoticed and under the most challenging of circumstances. He urged that, in spite of criticisms where they falter, they not be daunted.

To the inmates, he advised that they take the week of observance “to understand yourselves and pursue interest that will promote your self-development and by extension your families,” and assured that the administration is opening more structured opportunities for them to develop their skills and artistic competences.

Former Director of Prisons Cecil Kilkenny and another guest test a bed on display

Guest speaker Pastor Richard James, Director of the Personal Ministries Communities Services of the Conference of Seventh-Day Adventist, delivered a thought-provoking message, interjected with some humour.
The Thanksgiving Service was interspersed with musical renditions by Joint Services Choir and the Republican Steel Orchestra, the latter continuing to entertain as guests viewed a mini exhibition of craft and other work done by the inmates, as well as a pictorial display of activities of the GPS, mounted in the Prison Officers Sports Club.