Prisoners to be forced into rehab programmes

Inmates will soon be forced to participate in rehabilitation programmes within the prison system when the review of the Corrections Act is completed, says State Minister Zavia Mayne.

That is likely to be welcome news for stakeholders overseeing Jamaica's antiquated main adult prisons within the context of a correctional system with a reoffending rate of around 40 per cent.

“Under this new offender management policy, our rehabilitation programmes and participation therein will no longer be optional; and we are seeking to have a mandatory compliance where inmates will now have to, as a matter of their presence, participate in our rehabilitation programme,” Mayne, the second-in-line policy chief at the national security ministry, said during his keynote address at the 81st Intake Passing-Out ceremony at the Carl Rattray Staff College in Runaway Bay, St Ann, on Wednesday.

The review is also expected to allow sanctions for correctional staff who refuse to provide information on matters relating to any investigation, he added.

Other changes will include the introduction of an electronic management of offenders and provisions for children to visit their parents at correctional centres.

Jamaica's prisons held 3,719 inmates up to August 2021.

The island's crime rate has fallen significantly over the last decade, declining by 51 per cent from 10,711 in 2011 to 5,222 in 2021, even as murders continued at a worrying pace. Last year, 1,463 people were murdered on the island - a 10 per cent rise over the previous year.

In his Throne Speech in February, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen listed the review of the Corrections Act as one of several new and revised laws on the Government's agenda.

Mayne said that the Government remains committed to accountability and improved public safety and order in a transformed security framework.

The state minister, in the meantime, encouraged the 93 new correctional officers to utilise the knowledge gained over nine weeks of training, and to help guide young minds in the right direction.

“You are being entrusted to provide for a tradition of excellence. For those of you who will work with young offenders, I call on you to recognise that our youth are vulnerable and we must deter them from a life of crime and violence, working strategically to transform these young minds,” Mayne said.

Gary Thoms was awarded the commissioner's trophy for being top all-round recruit. He also picked up honours for Best Shot and top recruit in military drill.

Scores of relatives and friends turned out to support the graduates, including Lavern Johnson and Monique Patterson, mother and wife, respectively, of Fernando Forrest from Platoon No. 2.

Forrest, originally from St Catherine, now resides in St Mary.

“I'm very proud of my son. He's quiet, honest, humble, a very disciplined boy,” Johnson said.

“Honestly speaking, I can't even express how mi feel right now. Deep inside, I'm happy,” Patterson said of her spouse.