– to compensate for loss of visitation rights due to stringent COVID restrictions

THE 30 tablets donated to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) by Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes are to be used to allow prisoners to communicate with their attorneys-at-law and family members.

Ever since the donation was made on Tuesday, there‘s been widespread criticism in some quarters as to the propriety of criminals having access to such luxuries while doing time.

But as the Prison Service sought to explain by of a press release on Wednesday, while the COVID-19 pandemic has caused it to have to suspend all visits to the prisons, it still has a responsibility to facilitate communication between its charges and the outside world.

As such, at all prison locations, video calls will be permitted for prisoners to communicate with their families and lawyers under supervision of those prison officers on duty.

“The calls will be made via the Google Hangout application, through the means of a
cellular phone, iPad, tablet or a computer with a camera and a microphone powered by
an internet connection,” the Service said in the release.

“This application would allow the prisoners’ relatives and attorneys-at-law to send a
request to the email address of the location where the prisoner is housed, which would
then allow the officer assigned to oversee phonecalls to process the request for the call
for the prisoner,” it added.

The suspension of visits and use of technology will also ensure that both prison staff and inmates are protected from being infected by COVID-19.

Regarding the criticisms, Minister Hughes said she found it ludicrous that persons would want to quibble over the provision of such a basic service to the penal community, when others around the country would have also benefitted from the same consideration.
“It just assists the Prison Service in allowing basic communication between prisoners and their families,” Minister Hughes said via her Facebook page, adding: “Folks, we have bigger challenges to fight than this.

What’s sad is that, clearly, some have forgotten the thousands of tablets I distributed in the last 18 months to schools, community ICT hubs, STEM groups, children that did well in school, the blind, deaf, children in orphanages, women in shelters, Indigenous community groups, women’s groups, nurses, teachers.”

In closing, the Prison Service urged that should a relative or lawyer hope to communicate with a prisoner, the name of the prisoner with whom communication is being sought must be included in the request.