By Dillon Goring
THE Guyana Prison Service (GPS) is celebrating 38 years of service to the nation and as the institution observes this milestone, the Pepperpot Magazine spoke with Director (Ag) of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, who walked us through its evolution, as well as the ongoing rehabilitation works.

“From since my time in the Prison Service to now, it has evolved a far way in terms of the physical infrastructure. We are not there as yet, in terms of training activities for prisoners. Some prisoners back then were not exposed to training programmes. Now we are actually trying to engage all prisoners in training programmes,” Elliot told the Pepperpot Magazine. “The condition in which prisoners would have actually lived back then was not conjunctive. But now you see changes happening in terms of modernised infrastructure we have put up, so that you can be able to accommodate prisoners properly.”

According to the Director (Ag), the prison in Guyana back then was a penal system, but he noted that the institution is moving towards becoming a correctional facility.
The Director added that because of this goal, all prisoners are exposed to rehabilitation and training.

“ The skill sets are now better off, the type of Officers coming into the system would be better in terms of their skill set also and the capacity- building back then. Not a whole lot of persons would have been attracted to the organisation because of the conditions of service,” Elliot said, reflecting on times past.

He noted that since the conditions of service are improving, more persons are being attracted, thus making working with the prison service an appealing career.

According to him as well, there have been a lot of changes over the past 38 years to improve the quality of service given to the prisoners, which indirectly contributes to its service to the public at large.

Rehabilitative programmes and challenges faced
Elliot was careful to note that one of the challenges faced by the Prison Service is the absence of space.

“ If you do not have the adequate classroom facility, there is where the challenge comes, in terms of training prisoners, so with the improvement plan that we are having now, we are catering for adequate classroom facility at Lusignan. In next year’s budget, they are plans to build a school, a rehabilitative centre and a recreational centre, where all prisoners will be exposed to various training programmes. These include anger management, conflict resolution, carpentry, joinery, tailoring and a whole [gamut] of programmes, inclusive of agriculture,” the Prison Director told the Pepperpot Magazine.

The future of the Prison Service
Elliot made mention of the fact that persons who pass through the prison system will have a fair chance of being assessed and will also be properly classified by the Sentence Management Board and Unit at the location.

This, therefore means, according to him, that prisoners will be assigned to various training programmes based on their skills, classification and their skill sets, equipping them with a promising future upon release.

“You can be able to place them in adequate training areas and of course, you will see less conflicts arising out of carefully placing persons in different strategic places to live. Society will see products coming out of the prison… because they would have been equipped with the necessary tools and mindset and skills to gradually reintegrate into society,” the Director told the Pepperpot Magazine.

The Director was optimistic that prisoners coming out of prison would be prepared and equipped to reintegrate into society, ultimately creating a safer Guyana.

Additionally, the Director mentioned that prisoners coming out of prison would be able to effectively compete with the technological challenges faced in society, even as they are given an opportunity to make a significant contribution to society.

“Earlier in the year, we conducted a digital skills training programme for prisoners, particularly at New Amsterdam, where 30 persons were exposed (15 males and 15 females), on the programme’s completion, in-house personnel were the beneficiaries of the Digital Skills Training Programme,” Elliot told the Pepperpot Magazine .

The Director revealed that prisoners who are released from prison are recipients of skills training, and usually make valuable contributions by utilising their skills to develop and build the country.

Elliot also gave the assurance that despite the challenges faced, through the new directives and measures that have been put in place, the prison administration is working assiduously to ensure that life in and out of prison is comfortable and viable.

“Public safety remains part of our day-to-day activities, and of course we will ensure that prisoners are exposed to all the various types of training programmes, so when they would have been released, they can be marketable and sustain their livelihoods,” Elliot told the Pepperpot Magazine.

In honour of the GPS’s 38th Anniversary, the institution held a Thanksgiving Anniversary Church Service on September 26 under the theme, ‘Working towards improving the image of the Guyana Prison Service’ at the National Cultural Centre Tarmac, Hadfield Street, Georgetown. The event, which was attended by Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn and British High Commissioner Jane Miller, also featured an exhibition of prisoners’ works created during their time spent in rehabilitative programmes while in prison.