Assistant Superintendent of Prisons expresses concerns over increasing young offenders in the state prison

In the course of answering questions in court, at the closing of the Criminal Session on Monday, July 18, 2016, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons, Raphael Cartin, expressed concern over the increasing number of young offenders at the state prison. He revealed that some seventeen (17) of them have been at the prison located in Stock Farm. He said males dominate the prison population, and there are two juveniles in custody.
 
Cartin said “We have 211 inmates at the prison; 208 males, three females, and two juveniles are in custody, but I can tell the court that 17 young offenders have been at the prison”. Four foreign nationals: three Chinese and one Haitian, are also at the prison.
 
He advised the court that renovation works are in the works for the security block at the prison, including the toilet facilities. He advised that there are currently eleven (11) inmates in the security block, and they are using a ‘pail’ to dispose of human waste.  He said “estimates are now being sought to address the problem of the toilet facilities at the security block, and renovation work is expected to commence thereafter”.
 
Cartin also said he was concerned about security at the prison, because people are still throwing drugs and other illegal items over the fence for the prisoners. “We intercept some, and even call the police, but it is still a major concern for us.” He added that at present, “We have no cameras in the prison or outside, but we intended to fix that”.
 
According to Catin, prison officials want more staff, but that is not up to them; it is a matter for the government to work on. He also questioned the lack of interest shown by men, in becoming prison officers. He said 34 applications for jobs as prison officers have been received, and out of that number, 24 were from women.