– 12 officers commence training to identify concerns

SEVENTY-FIVE inmates who are known to be mentally unstable, substance abusers, HIV positive persons, women and aging persons in prisons will be under the microscope as 10 prison officers and two police officers commenced a one-week Vulnerable Prisoners Training programme under a component of Britain Security Sector Reform Project.

Conducting the training on behalf of the British High Commission is Director of CreateBetterMinds (an NGO) of Trinidad Caroline Ravello and facilitator Michel Hamilton. The training is being held at Police Officers’ Training Centre, Camp Road, Georgetown.

At the opening ceremony Acting British High Commissioner to Guyana, Ron Rimmer said the UK funded training was aimed at better equipping the police and warders in identifying and addressing issues that affect vulnerable prisoners.

Adding that there are many definitions that can be attached to the term vulnerable prisoners, the High Commissioner said in the training context they are prisoners who can be the targets of bullying, suicide, self-harm and those who needed additional support to help them cope in a prison environment.

Noting that the training was the first of its kind in Guyana, the British Envoy said this was born out of a request from President David Granger to include the prison sector in the UK-sponsored security sector reform review following the prison riot and fire in March 2016.

Mr. Rimmer said the first part of a 12-month review was just concluded and many practical areas were identified in which the UK can further assist the Guyana Government in specialised training of the security sector.

“This training is a series in the latest of tangible outcomes that the UK has undertaken or will be undertaking in the future, training has also been provided for the strategic planning unit of the Guyana Police Force and a marine capability review and an aviation capability review is due to commence in early March,” the High Commissioner said.

He said the training will also help the British High Commission to fulfill its responsibility to British nationals who may be incarcerated in Guyana.

“The potential for a vulnerable British national being imprisoned is real and cannot be ignored. Providing this training now will help to ensure that persons are better treated and receive the correct support,” the Acting British High Commissioner said.

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan said training in the prison sector was of vital importance since dealing with the needs of vulnerable prisoners was an important skillset for prison officers.

“I will only ask that those who have been selected please pay attention, please come to the classes, because I know sometimes we have an attitude towards punctuality and attendance… I urge you to participate fully so that you can be more educated and informed to make the prison environment a better one,” the Minister asked.

Director of Prisons (acting), Gladwin Samuels said the prison population was derived from society and a number of prisoners who are incarcerated ought not to be there because of the need for specialised training and care.

“In Guyana and across the world, the prison populations are increasing in terms of persons who are deemed as vulnerable for various reasons,” Samuels said.
He said there were 75 inmates who are known to be mentally unstable and the Guyana Prison Service had partnered with the Ministry of Public Health to provide the necessary care for those persons.

“Before the July 9, 2017 fire most of those prisoners (mentally unstable) were housed at Camp Street Prison where they received daily or fortnightly care from the psychiatric department of the Georgetown Public Hospital,” he said.

The director said the same inmates were now spread across other prison locations where they still receive the treatment.

Adding that the vulnerable section of the prison population also includes persons who are considered weak in their physical, psychological and emotional state, Samuels said the possibility of such inmates being manipulated were very high.

“That is why the roles of prison officers are very important in terms of ensuring that those persons who are deemed vulnerable are not taken advantage of. I see this training as a step in the right direction in order for us to be better equipped to identify those persons with special needs and those persons deemed vulnerable so that they can be adequately catered for,” the Prison Director said.

He said trained officers will pass on to their peers the knowledge gained in order for there to be a larger pool of officers to identify the vulnerable in the prison population.

“In a prison environment if a person is deemed weak several things can happen to them. They can be made to wash people’s clothes which is a violation of their right; their food can be taken away by persons who are stronger, so by being able to adequately identify these persons and as prison infrastructure is improved we would be able to provide the necessary segregation for them and also equip them with the necessary skills they need to be reintegrated into society,” Samuels said.
He urged the participants that they should focus and grasp all that was being taught.

A Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2016 Camp Street Prison fire which resulted in the deaths of 17 inmates has found that Indigenous inmates are among the most vulnerable population in the prison system.

Apart from highlighting women, mentally- ill persons, substance abusers, HIV positive persons and aging persons, the CoI report pointed out that apart from the inhumane conditions in prison, Indigenous people suffered from additional hardships.

According to the reports, “They (indigenous people) are separated completely from their families and communities. Prison diet never includes food to which they are accustomed to. Indigenous people by nature are less assertive or aggressive than other population groups.”

It was asserted in the report that Indigenous people endure far longer delays for trial due to the unreliability of courts in the interior regions and that their poor command of English isolated them “almost completely” from life around them.

“Whereas the harshness of incarceration on females and young people compared to males receives at least a token of acknowledgement, the application of this harsh system to Amerindians is almost totally ignored—by the administration of justice, the Parole Board and the political administration,” the report stated.