SUNDAY afternoon’s riot and fire at the Georgetown Prison that destroyed the Camp Street complex and resulted in several prison officers and inmates being injured, the death of prison officer Mr. Odinga Wickham, along with the destruction of records and a piece of the nation’s history require serious reflection and action.

In our Monday editorial, it was considered important to advise the nation that this is not the time to seek political mileage and finger-point, given the seriousness of the issue and the importance of presenting a united front in the face of what is clearly a threat to law and order. The acts by those inmates to subvert this, placing the lives of their fellow inmates, the prison officers, compound, and the wider society at risk call for sober reflection.

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who was President in 2002 when five inmates escaped from Camp Street, wreaking for four years, havoc on this nation, of all persons should have been rendering advice and support, not finding it most opportune to score political pot-shots. During the four- year period lives were lost, society was terrified — cowering in fear and the victim of a bloody crime spree unprecedented in the nation’s history. Where Mr. Jagdeo’s government may have failed to act, now on the outside looking in, should he have a different perspective in handling the fallout it would be to the nation’s good to make it known.

Crime hurts society and insulated though the Leader of the Opposition may feel, as a beneficiary of round-the-clock security protection, the ordinary man and woman do not have similar protection. Consequently, for them what happened on Sunday it is important it be handled judiciously and the nation does not see a repeat of the 2002-2006 criminal mayhem.

Sunday’s riot must not descend into partisan politics and if this is what Mr. Jagdeo seeks, he must be deprived of his desire. The security of the nation and the safety of its people are at risk and no politics must divide us in any effort to restore law and order. The continuous efforts by the Joint Services, in spite of a few hiccups, arguably are of superior performance than in 2002 and they deserve the support of the society, more so the political leadership to bring the situation under control and recapture the escapees. The work of Vice-President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, to address issues such as remand and sentencing, and engagement with the Chancellor of the Judiciary on trials shows efforts are being made to address overcrowding and the dispensing of justice.

The Government National Security Council has been having several meetings and has put a four-part Emergency Plan into action. It includes the construction of temporary structures to safely and securely house prisoners in the short-term and protecting the population; the completion of recovery operations to account for and accommodate every single prisoner; implementation of legal measures to immediately reduce the prison population; and, importantly, the immediate recapture of the five inmates, who escaped custody.
Retired Justice James Patterson who headed the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2016 jail break has also added his voice to the conversations in addressing what has become an endemic problem at Lot 12 Camp Street. In the event Mr. Jagdeo forgets, this problem did not happen in the last two years, but was years in the making, during 12 of which he was President and Commander-in-Chief and which did not see similar attempts as are presently taking place.

There is no denying the concern that given what happened in 2016 and subsequent CoI, persons would be inclined to think that Sunday’s incident could have been avoided. But to hear Mr. Jagdeo say on Monday that what had transpired is the result of “unbelievable incompetence and lack of accountability displayed by those with political responsibility for security at the city jail and law and order in our country,” one wonders why he failed to take some responsibility for the state of affairs.

The present situation where prisoners of Camp Street are still to be properly housed, the cause (s) of the incident properly investigated and ascertained as to what and who were responsible, implementing the CoI recommendations, and moving to ensure justice for those incarcerated and who committed Sunday’s incident, along with the security and safety of the wider society are of utmost concern. The Leader of the Opposition may find more political value in seeking to aid and support such concern for though he may not feel threatened, his supporters and others have cause for concern. Insensitivity to law and order, at this volatile period, is the last thing the people want from their leaders.