Hostel refurbished for rehabilitated inmates of correctional institutions eligible for parole
Published:Monday | September 30, 2024 | 10:20 AM
A hostel for inmates of correctional institutions who have been rehabilitated and are eligible for parole has been refurbished and reopened and is now being utilised to aid in the reformation process.
The facility, which is located at Tower Street in Kingston, will serve as a transitional house for parolees who have no accommodation after being released from correctional centres.
This was disclosed by Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn.
“There are about, I believe, four inmates who are in that transitional home, and this is used to house inmates who have been rehabilitated and will be leaving [correctional facilities] soon,” Mrs. Cuthbert-Flynn told JIS News.
According to the National Correctional Services Policy of Jamaica, aftercare services provided for incarcerated persons aim to reduce re-offending by providing rehabilitation, empowerment, resettlement and reintegration support for offender clients who have transitioned into the community.
Enhancing community re-entry and aftercare support for paroled inmates is also one of the objectives under the National Correctional Services Policy.
“[For] some of those inmates, we have them working on the outside, just to get them used to things to make sure [that], when they do come out, it's a smooth transition [for] them. So that's another major accomplishment,” the state minister pointed out.
Meanwhile, Cuthbert-Flynn has commended recently appointed Commissioner of Corrections, Brigadier (Ret'd) Radgh Mason, for his work in implementing policy changes at the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
She said she is particularly pleased that the team, under Brigadier Mason's leadership, has been diligently reimagining the DCS' functions.
“I think so far, he is [a] no-nonsense [person]. I think he's really good for correctional facilities and rehabilitation, and what it is that we're trying to do at the Ministry. He brings a new face to what should be,” Cuthbert-Flynn said.
- JIS News
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