By Tajeram Mohabir

THE 132-year-old Georgetown Prison, also called the Camp Street Prison, has experienced several occasions of unrest over the past decade. These were caused by a number of factors, including poor conditions of the prison and lengthy periods of incarceration without trial for prisoners on remand.

The prison was built to house about 600 inmates, but for years, it has been dogged by overcrowding, holding over 900.
Wednesday’s fire was the fourth reported in the past five years, but aside from these, there were several incidents at the prison that made the headlines.
* In July 2010, inmates set alight a mattress in the Brick Cell block at the facility. Thick smoke emanated from the southern end of the prisoner’s block soon after and an alarm was raised. Luckily, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) arrived promptly and doused the flames. No major injury was reported.
* In December 2010, the police and army swooped down on the Georgetown Prisons following reports of a break-out by inmates. Reports indicated that there was an attempted break-out by prisoners in solitary confinement. Armed police and army men were forced to barricade the immediate vicinity of the prisons, while residents were told that a Joint Services operation was under way.
* In April, 2013, officials at the Georgetown Prison had to take swift action after remanded prisoner Colin Jones had set his mattress on fire. He was in solitary confinement. The convict was facing a number of charges ranging from murder to arson to possession of guns and ammunition to escaping from lawful custody and cultivating cannabis.
* In March 2015, inmates started a fire in a cell on the new capital wing, but the Guyana Fire Service responded quickly and was able to prevent it from spreading to other sections of the prison.
* In September 2015, pandemonium broke out at the Camp Street Prison after a fight between cellmates ended with one prisoner chopped several times about his body. During the commotion, a mattress was set on fire, and again the Guyana Fire Service responded promptly and was able to put out the blaze. Like before, questions were raised as to how inmates get hold of flammable materials.
* On February 23, 2002, five dangerous men, Dale Moore, Troy Dick, Shawn Brown, Andrew Douglas and Mark Fraser, escaped from the prison, killing a prison officer and seriously wounding another in the process. The escapees had unleashed a reign of terror in Guyana.
The authorities in recent years have been making an effort to improve conditions at the Camp Street Prison. The fourth phase of a brick building being built in the compound of the prison is expected to be completed by July month-end. That phase of the project is being executed to the tune of $52M.
Over the years, various sums have been allocated towards construction of the building. In 2007, $40M was allocated to the project; $31.7M in 2012; and $81.7M in 2014.
Following its completion, a further $150M has been earmarked to be spent on rehabilitating the older structure.
According to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, prisoners in the older building would be relocated to the new one to facilitate the rehabilitation works that cost $150M.
The brick building is expected to ease congestion at the prison.
Over the years, reports on the local prison system have indicated a need for reform in the criminal justice system, as it does not offer adequate alternatives to incarceration.
In addition, conditions for both staff and prisoners are poor and there is minimal scope for constructive work to help prisoners to resettle in society.
Prisoners on their part have complained of badly prepared meals; beatings by bullies; congested cells; filthy mattresses; poor health care and personal hygiene; lack of training, recreation and constructive activity; and delays in court procedures resulting in large numbers of pre-trial or remand prisoners being held for long periods awaiting trial, among other problems.