EARLIER this week, news broke of a riot at the Lusignan Prison. Criminal activities of this type have routinely occurred at our penal institutions over the years and despite the many efforts at reform, these continue.

Sunday’s riot was sparked by a combination of the seizure of contraband, and a confrontation between a prisoner and a prison warder. A building that housed the inmates was completely destroyed, causing the relocation of the 284 prisoners that were housed there.

At a subsequent news conference, Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, clarified that the incident did not involve a prison-wide search, but just the search of one prisoner. Samuels also said that a lack of contraband in the prisons may have been frustrating prisoners more than usual, noting that it was clearly overheard that prisoners said there is a drought in the prison as relates to contraband.

The prison guard involved in the confrontation has since been removed to avoid further agitation at the prison. The prison has been and will continue to be an institution in society. Recognising that the prison encompasses people who are citizens, it must not only be looked at as a penal system, but a reformist institution that prepares the incarcerated for re-integration into society.

The walls of the prisons are bursting at their seams given the larger population than what they were originally designed for. This is in itself a violation of prisoners’ rights and in some society there would be an outcry to have this corrected. The disgust for criminal actions must not translate to violation of human rights which prisoners too are guaranteed. Addressing reform will require reviewing sentencing based on the type of crime. Innovative ways can be examined to dispense with petty crimes such as stealing a bicycle, wherein justice can be dispensed through community service in a controlled environment. President Granger’s initiative of pardoning young men who had committed non-violent offences must be considered a good intent to kick start a major prison reformation. The prison population can be placed in several different groups since the one-size fits all system is a proven failure. Even as inmates are taught CXC subjects and afforded basic technical education, such can be complemented with programmes like an effective parole system designed towards preparing prisoners for reintegration and reducing the congestion that presently exists.

Every incarcerated individual, outside of those on death row or life imprisonment, is expected to re-integrate into society. Taking cognisance of this reality requires a reform structure that is deep, focused and incisive, with consideration for the varied groups. It should be considered that prison life must bring with it new opportunities or second chance to pursue a life of legitimacy and productivity through acquisition of knowledge and development of appropriate life skills. In the wider society, efforts can also be made to empower the citizenry of the various crimes and corresponding penalties via roadway signs, etc., which play a role in deterring crime. Our prison system has remained in an era the world has moved beyond. And given that the prison system is being managed at a tidy sum to the taxpayers, attention ought to be paid to value for money. Applying this principle can see a system put in place targeting reduction in recurring offenders by separating them from the hardened criminals who can influence them to a life of crime. Prison reform is possible in the presence of will and commitment, but such must also be seen as a matter of necessity to bring Guyana into the 21st century.