…State spends $150M annually to upkeep remand prisoners

FOR years the local prison system has been overcrowded mainly because of a huge number of pre-trial detainees, but a recent study has recommended that the judiciary start utilising alternatives to relieve this burden. The Ministry of Public Security as part of its Citizen Security Strengthening Programme had launched a study on the alternatives to incarceration for pre-trial detainees which was done by foreign consultant, Peter Pursglove.

The findings of the study were presented by Pursglove at the Grand Coastal Hotel on Thursday. Prior to the presentation, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan said there are many alternatives to pre-trial detention.He, however, pointed out that they are not being utilised by the Judiciary. Some of the alternatives include community service; requiring offenders to attend classes and enter programmes relating to their offence which could prevent reoffending and so forth.Ramjattan believes that the findings of the study will help with the restoration of the policies and practices of pre-trial justice.

The minister said the study was earmarked for the judiciary and prison services because its purpose is to make pre-trial justice safer; fairer and more effective.Detainees on remand account for 35 per cent of the local prison population. Ramjattan said it costs the State $150 million to just feed that population yearly. There are also additional costs associated with incarceration of those inmates.

“The high rate of remand makes a strong case for stakeholders to eliminate inappropriate use of pre-trial incarceration,” said Ramjattan.It was noted that if the alternative methods of detention were utilised, the population would have been less. Some of the causes of the high rate of remand prisoners are the situation where prosecutors do not want to grant bail; slow criminal justice process and insufficient community-based sanctions among others. The minister pointed out that the judiciary must balance the rights of the accused even though the law states that those who commit offences should not be allowed into society. He hopes that other associated agencies can also play their role in ensuring that persons are granted pre-trial justice.

The findings of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the first Camp Street Prison fire had revealed that the supporting agencies are failing in their supporting roles. According to the findings, only seven prisoners per year have been released by the Parole Board and the Ministry of Public Health’s contribution has also been minimal, despite them having the authority to offer assistance to those who are ill. CRIMINAL LAW REFORM In light of that, the minister said there is need for Criminal Law Reform and they (the ministry) has started the process.

Pursglove indicated that part of the study also outlines the need for a more structured approach to addressing the longstanding challenge of overcrowding in the prison system. Like Minister Ramjattan, he agreed that there is need for a radical reform of the data collection process in the prison system. This, he said, will allow authorities to track each inmate throughout their prison life.He said the absence of such information has sometimes resulted in innocent people languishing away in the prison system.

“You have got to know who is in your prison and if he is there. This is very important at a remand prison, you should be able to look at each remand prisoner and know exactly when he entered prison, when his next court appearance should be.

There should be alarm bells that ring if someone is getting left behind in the system, you have to constantly monitor those in the system to ensure they go through their stages at the right time,” said the consultant.He also recommended the establishment of a committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the criminal law system.