PRISON is the repository of those human elements of society that have broken the laws. For whatever offence, the process of adjudication that will determine incarceration/custodial sentence/punishment, usually commences with a report to the law enforcement authorities, followed by an investigation that determines veracity of allegation. If authentic, charges will follow, for the court to determine guilt or otherwise.
So much has been written about what a prison is in terms of its conditions. Surely, most of what has been known, whether via accounts from former inmates, or from written accounts, films and documentaries, do give a gloomy picture of what a foreboding place it is.

Therefore, for all that is known, whether by acquired knowledge, or from personal experience, prison, in its strict procedural structure, cannot be like one’s home, since it has specific functions to be applied in its daily administration and management of those who are its unfortunate custodians.

What must be clearly understood is that being in prison means for that inmate the removal of some privileges, otherwise enjoyed when at liberty. Implicit in this withdrawal, is the understanding that there is a penalty that must be paid for the particular offence, apart from losing one’s liberty. Also, any right/privilege enjoyed is that given or allowed by the presiding administration. Thus, it is a situation where prisons should be an environment that is efficiently managed, with its rules being firmly enforced in a humane manner, and its inmates being made to adhere as part of the disciplinary regimen, inclusive of measures designed for rehabilitation; and of course, its security.

In Guyana, there are now occurrences that clearly point to a situation where those who are central to the management of the penal system, either do not fully comprehend how central their role is in sustaining such an ordered institution for the betterment of the future well-being of inmates; or are deliberately engaged in acts that are definitely contradictory to what are intended.

And here the focus is on the prison officers and wardens who hold the administrative key to every prison; its success or failure. Since their role is central to the mental and physical soul of every inmate, it means that they are the main players in such a challenging arena. Apart from security duties, they have a role to play in the correctional process of inmates. This means working with the latter, whether as individuals or as a group in positive endeavours, in a manner that is designed to prepare them for their eventual return to society.

Certainly, the latter process cannot include officers smuggling marijuana into the prisons for business on their own behalf, or for inmates to use and or sell to their fellow inmates – as this can only create or perpetuate substance abuse for those already addicted. And cell phones, which it is said are also used for arranging criminal acts, among its many uses apart from being sold for dollars, are not supposed to be found on the person of any inmate.

But to have alcoholic beverages enjoyed by inmates in prison as if it is a casual having –a- few- drinks- afternoon session with the boys, points not only to a total breakdown of the disciplinary code for inmates, but as well to personnel who are deliberately complicit in contradicting the prison administration process.

Such actions, of which there have been too many, too often, will not be of any help to the inmates, in terms of re-fashioning their understanding of wrongdoing; their rehabilitation, how it affects their lives, and the need to re-think their future place in society. For the prison administration, such illegal instances can also act to compromise the very safety of even those who are part and parcel of such illegal acts.

It is unfair to the current government that has been taking urgent steps, and well-meaning measures, to remove the national penal system from its well-known archaic and traditional moorings, to a more modern understanding in which correctional and rehabilitative measures will become the guiding light for those whose remit will be a custodial penalty. It is time that these very serious contraventions be brought to an end.