That Berbice jailbreak tells many stories

Jun 14, 2011 Editorial

Deviants are in a class by themselves. They are a menace to society and as a result, society created an institution to protect itself from these people. Initially, the institution was more punitive than corrective. The conditions were harsh, very harsh and designed to break the inmates so that upon release these inmates would have been scared to offend society.
But over time there were those in society who felt that every human being, no matter how deviant, should be treated in a certain way. Their views prevailed and the institutions, which became prisons instead of jails, modified their approach to the deviants. These prisons became correctional institutions.
As time progressed the criminals became more and more aggressive so modifications had to be made to the prisons. Jails had to be strengthened and had to be supported by additional security measures. In some countries Governments are contracting out their prison systems. Certainly, jails are not high on Government priority, until something happens.
There have been a series of jailbreaks in Guyana, the most serious occurring in Georgetown about two decades ago when twelve prisoners scaled the fence. A public spirited citizen who happened to be in the vicinity shot and killed one outside the fence, one broke his leg and could go nowhere but most of them escaped, some never to be seen again.
The Mazaruni Prisons had its share of breaks and history will show that only three men have successfully escaped from that prison. The same cannot be said for the country’s main prison, the Camp Street jail. One breakout led to one of the worst reigns of terror in the country, a vicious crime wave that led to the death of nearly 300 people in five years.
Now there is the New Amsterdam Prison. Prisoners have routinely scaled its walls and escaped into the bush in the Canje. Many were later held in Suriname and Cayenne. Now there has been another. What is worrisome is that it occurred in the dead of the night when the prison is supposed to be asleep and when the slightest sound would be heard throughout the facility.
That one of the men who have broken out this time is doing so for the second time tells an interesting story about security. Of the other escapees, one of the men was so bold that he killed another inmate inside the prison walls. This man is incorrigible. He displayed his violent nature when he attacked reporters who had gone to court and even swore at the magistrate.
The reports coming out of the prison administration state that the escapees ripped out the floor boards in an area where the walls were supposed to be double paneled. To rip out a piece of board that is nailed requires certain tools. We must assume that the tool was smuggled into the cell block.
If indeed there was this tool in the cell block then someone was either lax, or turned the Nelson eye to allow for its passage or simply took the tool into the cell block. It is no secret that relatives pay prison officers to do certain things.
What is amazing is that it is night when the place is deathly still. To break out the prisoners must have had to make noise which should have been heard throughout the prison. Some may contend that any breakage was done during the day when the sound would have been disguised by routine prison noises.
If the latter is true then security is lax; officers take the prisoners for granted. Four men eventually enter the prison compound undetected.
We know that the government has been spending money on security cameras and we would expect that the prisons would have been fitted with these cameras. If indeed the cameras are in place in New Amsterdam then someone must be made to account for the absence if someone monitoring them. If there are no cameras then the prison authorities must be made to answer. There are cameras at the Georgetown Prisons.
As can be expected, some heads are rolling; people would be sacked, some transferred and for a few days there would be enhanced security. There would be routine checks of the cells and prison officers would go through the motions—doing what they should have been doing routinely. The jailbreak is the result of our complacency which extends to every facet of national life.
Suffice it to say that the horse has already bolted and some law enforcement officers are spending sleepless nights hunting men who know their escape route better than most.

Latest News

That Berbice jailbreak tells many stories

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | January, 10th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Kennard Memorial Turf Club releases Race dates for 2025

Region Six Education Department Renews Golf...

Savory, Persaud show class ahead of Regional...

Spectators experience and playing standards high...

Archery Guyana’s 2024 Senior Barebow Open...

Body of Chinese national who fell from new...

Features/Columnists

Social media reporting is a double-edged sword

Clarifying misconceptions about the Panama Canal

A trillion-dollar business run by men with $10 heads

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

That Berbice jailbreak tells many stories

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | January, 10th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]