– new recruitment course will address trafficking, corrupt practices
WITH over 2,000 inmates to monitor on a daily basis, the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) has seen a depletion of its ranks to 475 warders from what is the established strength of 601 to fully operate at an optimum level.
This is according to Acting Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels during an interview with the media at the officers’ facility at the Camp Street Prison on Friday.
Monday July 9, 2018, will mark one year since inmates set fires which flattened the Camp Street Prison and nearby Officers’ Recreational Centre. The fire was a diversion by four inmates who escaped at the same time from the prison and in the process shot and killed a prison guard and brutally chopped and wounded a number of others.
Samuels said that when the Camp Street Prison was burnt to the ground, there were 515 warders, but since then many have retired, resigned and some were dismissed.
The prison director said the vetting process is now more rigid and the GPS is unable to capture the required number of persons to fill the void in the system.
He explained that on one occasion when the GPS advertised vacancies, 93 persons took the test; 40 of whom were successful. However, due to mandatory marijuana testing 11 failed and were removed from the batch.
“We believe if you are smoking marijuana, it means you have access to it and you are likely a potential trafficker…Of the 40, only 27 persons were sent forward pending a detailed medical; the training for those recruits will start from July 17 and will run for 14 weeks, since we revised the training details,” he said.
He said the GPS now wants to ensure that when persons graduate from the Basic Recruitment Course, they are more grounded and informed prison officers and they will be aware of their expectations.
“Every person can claim they are being underpaid. While I strongly believe for the work we are doing we can be paid more, the reality is that you were told from the initial stage of what the package is, you have the option of choosing to come on board, and if for some reason you recognise that the salary cannot fulfil your requirements, it is safer for you to leave with your integrity intact instead of becoming involved in corrupt practices and become a prisoner,” the prisons director said.
He noted that warders who were sentenced for trafficking are offered the option to address new recruits in relating the serious nature of becoming involved in trafficking contraband.
Noting that the contraband being found in prisons is a result of collusion, the director said on Friday morning he was discussing the issue with officers in charge of various prison locations.
He noted that the Mazaruni Prison fell under the microscope, since on each occasion when a security search is conducted prohibited items are found in what should be a maximum security prison.
“In order for persons to go to Mazaruni prison, they have to be transported by boat. We have a security checkpoint on the stelling. We have a Standard Operating Procedure in place for warders to be searched before they mount duty, so again if there is no collusion then there is failure or lapses in the execution of those functions,” Samuels said.
In addressing the issue of smuggling, Samuels said that body scanners are being sourced for the prisons and as such, the right one is needed, since prison officers frequently enter and exit the prison confines on a daily basis. This, he said, poses a concern about radiation exposure from such frequent scanning.
“We had several submissions from international suppliers and local companies who would have provided specs as well. We are at a stage to finalise what is best to serve the purpose,” he said.
He said during a recent visit to Jamaica for a prison conference, discussions were held with exhibitors for scanners and before the end of September 2018 those officials will be in Guyana for discussions.
He explained that the exhibitors supply their scanners for several countries and the GPS budget proposal will include such expenses that corroborate with Minister of Public Security’s vision for the prison service.
In addition, he said in a matter of weeks new and enhanced CCTV camera systems will be placed strategically at prison locations.
Meanwhile, on the issue of the reconstruction of the Camp Street Prison, he said that 60 prefabricated cells are being constructed and this will be allotted to three pods in the prison, while each cell will accommodate three prisoners, which will cater for 180 high- risk prisoners.
He explained that the method being used for reconstruction of the Camp Street Prison will be done with specially designed pods, which will house prefabricated cells which are being delivered by a company called SteelCell.
SteelCell has a custom-design production plant located in Baldwin, Georgia, USA. This facility was created to produce detention cells at maximum efficiency.
“We have recently finalised all the construction details for those cells, which should be built and delivered to Guyana within 2018,” he said.
He said that the architect recently concluded his work to accommodate those cells and at the end of this month, tenders should be out in order to have the works allocated to a contractor.
Currently, he said there are 203 high-profile prisoners and they are currently housed in the Brick Prison.
Further, Samuels said currently, expansion of the Mazaruni Prison is in progress and infrastructure to allow access to the worksite has started, since all the construction materials are being delivered by barges.
