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Cellular phones in prisons are a threat to national security – Home Affairs Ministry

Jul 10, 2013 News

The Ministry of Home Affairs is concerned with the penetration of cell phones at the various prisons, particularly at the Georgetown and New Amsterdam Prisons, as evidenced by the recovery of these items during security searches.
According to the ministry, this concern is premised on the fact that cell phones can be used as weapons to undermine national security.
The Ministry is of the view that since the Guyana Prison Service is an integral part of the Criminal Justice System, it is expected to strengthen and support the integrity of national security.  Consequently, the proliferation of cell phones in prisons must be fought aggressively.
“Every security search, whether by the prison administration or joint services, invariably yield cell phones,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday, adding that the instruments pose a security threat and danger to staff, and prisoners who do not indulge in the practice of procuring and keeping this prohibited item.
The Home Affairs Ministry said that while the challenge of cell phones in prisons is not unique to Guyana, it does not mean that this trend must be accepted and the ministry is playing its part in addressing this issue.
A special meeting convened recently by the Minister of Home Affairs, with the middle and senior management of the Guyana Prison Service, including Cadet Officers, discussed the penetration of cell phones and marijuana in prisons, and the Officers were encouraged to remain on the side of the law.
A number of recommendations emanated from that meeting, all of which are being actively pursued with a view to stamping out the penetration of cell phones and other illegal items in prisons.
Most of the illegal articles found in the prison are taken in by staff members.
This view was expressed by two retired correctional officers from the United States of America, during a training programme for local prison officers a few years ago.
Within recent times, local prison officials have been increasingly unearthing contraband substances within the prison, including drugs and weapons.
In some cases, these items are smuggled in by the prisoners themselves, while the authorities have caught staff members trying to take in drugs and cellular phones in some of the most ingenuous ways.
There are reports that a local prisoner could get almost anything illegal within the prison environment.
These illegal items are either smuggled in through the gate, although the administration has installed an x-ray scanner, or it is thrown over the prison walls, such as with the case of a firearm on one occasion.
One of the retired US correctional officers, Carlyle Holder, pointed out that although some prison officers are guilty of facilitating the entry of contraband goods into the prison, this represents a small percentage of the staff.
“What happens is the good people look the other way, and what we have to get them to do is not look the other way, but make reports. Let’s get rid of the few bad apples that make the agency appear to be corrupted with a lot of dirty staff. This training will probably remove some of that wall of silence, so that people will realize that if you look the other way, you are just as guilty as the person that’s doing it,” he said.

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