Porous prisons
DCS chief admits difficulty in preventing contraband smuggling; Holness promises full-force response to Clarendon tragedy
Published:Tuesday | August 13, 2024 | 12:13 AMKimone Francis - Senior Staff Reporter
Fingers are being pointed at the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) as a conduit for organised crime following a mass shooting claiming eight lives and leaving 10 people injured in Four Paths, Clarendon, on Sunday night.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Monday said that criminal players from overseas and incarcerated persons are believed to be behind the deadly attack on a group of more than 50 people gathered for a birthday celebration along Cherry Tree Lane.
A seven-year-old boy was among those fatally hit, while a one-year-old infant is among those injured in the shock attack that sent chills down the nation’s spine.
On Monday, Brigadier Radgh Mason, the head of the DCS, said it is difficult to plug the holes in correctional facilities, acknowledging that his subordinates are complicit in smuggling contraband or looking the other way.
He said the DCS continues to conduct daily random searches, collaborate with the police, and implement technology to counter the recurring issue. Added to that, he said measures are being taken to prevent the public from throwing prohibited items over prison walls.
“Our daily operations involve searching visitors and the institution; searching our members. We’ve implemented scanners, closed-circuit television cameras.
“These activities continue daily and once prohibited articles are found, we take the necessary actions against perpetrators,” Mason told The Gleaner.
Under the Corrections (Amendment) Act, 2021, an inmate who engages in the unauthorised use or possession of an electronic communication device commits an offence and can be fined up to $3 million. A fine not exceeding $5 million is prescribed for any subsequent similar offence.
Still, hits are ordered from inside the island’s prisons.
“It is difficult in the sense that there are ingenious ways in which these items are concealed and are destroyed when it is believed that they are going to be found. It’s an ongoing operational activity at any correctional facility or lockup that is in operation,” Mason said.
He noted, too, that the technology around cell phone jammers is being improved and that new technology is being acquired.
Speaking at a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, Holness said the killings represent an attack on every Jamaican and every community.
He called it an act of terror.
“We know that persons overseas are involved and connected in this matter. We know that persons who are incarcerated presently have connections in this matter. We know that multiple gangs are connected and involved in this matter,” said Holness.
“Every gang, every person, who in any way facilitated, provided the arms or were involved and pulled the trigger themselves, we will find you … . We will not treat this as another criminal act. We will treat this as an act of terror,” he added.
In December 2022, he disclosed that Kingston had supplied Washington with a list of 31 criminals based overseas who are directly involved in local crimes following his visits to the United States.
On Monday, he said he could not divulge too much on whether that move has resulted in favourable outcomes.
Acting Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey later confirmed to The Gleaner that at least one person was arrested and convicted in the US as a result.
Meanwhile, Holness said the National Security Council has given a directive to the security forces to launch an all-out assault on the gangs involved.
He said that for too long, the country has played with gangs.
“There is no way that eight persons can be killed in one incident in Jamaica and the State stands as if nothing happened. No. Every gang member, every gang will feel the full force of the State today. This must never happen again in Jamaica,” he said.
The killings were carried out in two separate attacks on two gatherings at approximately 8:45 p.m.
Bailey said preliminary investigations suggest that the attackers used high-powered weapons, firing indiscriminately on the gatherings.
“Our teams are working tirelessly to identify the perpetrators and their motives,” he said.