Cops call for removal of custody responsibilities

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Government is being urged to remove the burden of keeping and caring for persons detained in lockups at stations across the island from the police.

The call came on Tuesday from Detective Sergeant Doris Stewart, Joint Branch board chairman in the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Criminal Investigation Bureau during the 81st annual joint central conference of the Jamaica Police Federation in Montego Bay, St James.

The Jamaica Police Federation represents members of the JCF from the rank of constable to sergeant.

Citing the inadequate facilities and poorly constructed jail cells at police stations islandwide, Stewart noted that while building prisons may be costly, the inmates should be placed in the care of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).

“I think at some point you may need to get legislation necessary to take the guidance of prisoners from under the control of the police,” Stewart said during a question-and-answer session with National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang.

“Put it (the control of prisoners) under [the DCS] or some other [body], so that the police can concentrate on their core duty of national security,” the detective sergeant suggested.

Stewart, who is also chairman of the CIB – Operations Branch board, lamented that the poor condition of jail cells at police stations across the island sometimes facilitate the escape of detainees and when there are such jailbreaks, the lawmen should not be blamed. She said it is unfair to charge cops for the escape of inmates when the facilities fall short of what they are supposed to be.

FOUR-HOUR STAND-OFF

The call comes in the wake of a four-hour stand-off at the Montego Bay Police Station in the Freeport section of the Second City on Saturday night. An inmate reportedly disarmed a police officer on the cell block in that incident and allegedly used the weapon to shoot a fellow prisoner and a cop.

The accused inmate later surrendered the weapon.

During his address at the conference on Tuesday, Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake supported Stewart’s call for the keeping of prisoners to be removed from the roles and responsibilities of the police.

However, he noted that this could take some time as it is not a policy priority of the Government at this time.

“I don’t believe the police have any business dealing with Correctional Services issues. We shouldn’t be holding prisoners. We need an entire department for that,” Blake said.

While not responding directly to the call, Chang promised that new prisons will be built to replace the aged St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre in Spanish Town, St Catherine, and the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston – the two main prisons in the island.

SPECIALISED UNIT

“We are looking at how we can increase the space adequately in some of what we have and we are looking at a specialised unit to take some of our most high-risk prisoners and put them in different situations from where they are now because we know that part of the thing is that they stay there and influence other prisoners,” Chang said.

At the same time, the national security minister points to poor construction work by some contractors in building police stations and jail cells, which, according to him, place police officers at risk when inmates escape custody.

“The issue of how we build lockups is an ongoing debate, which I hope we can resolve quickly. But certainly, the quality of the lockups will have to be addressed immediately. And we must ensure that they are safe enough that people cannot just walk out of them and then we blame the officers who are on duty,” Chang acknowledged.

“[The contractors] don’t treat them properly. Sometimes when they fix them, we have to retrofit them all over, but we’ll work at it and I know the officers are understanding and we will collaborate with the team from the police’s Property Management [and Maintenance Division] to ensure that the lockups are at least safe,” the minister said.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com