Camp Street jail a powder keg

Sep 27, 2015 News

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Efforts are being made to address overcrowding at the Georgetown Prisons even as the prison service is gearing to celebrate its 132^nd Anniversary.

Director of Prisons Welton Trotz admitted that the Camp Street prison has more inmates than it was originally constructed to accommodate but for security reasons he did not wish to state the prisoners to prison officer ratio.

He however said, “Of the five prisons Georgetown is overcrowded but the other prisons are just about level in its inmate population.”

And while there have been several escapes from prisons nationwide, the general prison situation at present is under control in Guyana as compared to other Caribbean territories says Welton Trotz, DSM, the current head of the Guyana Prison Services. The last major jail break was on February 23, 2002.

Dispelling reports that ranks have been treating some prisoners with more favor than others, he said should that occur disciplinary action is a surety. “Those disciplinary actions range from a fine of a few days pay to immediate dismissal.” However while that has happened under the watch of other Prison Heads to date there has not be any such case under Trotz.

In Georgetown, Trotz admitted that ranks continue to be faced with the problem of persons continually throwing drugs and countraband over the fence and these items ultimately end up in the hands of prisoners.

When asked about the new building in the Camp Street compound the Prison chief said, “It is not completed as yet but we are hoping that it will be done before the first half of the New Year (2016).”

He explained that the new brick prison will be used to house mainly high profile prisoners but as it is, the past contractor has completed his specified works. Construction is stalled until monies are further allocated in the national budget.

Recently, the prison has been the subject of allegations from prisoners who are crying foul over ill treatment among other issues.

However, Trotz dismissed these allegations as furthest from the truth. He however noted that the prisoners are agitated mainly because of the long period that their matters are taking to be heard. “They were very vociferous but that matter is being addressed with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and arrangements are being made to treat with the cases more speedily.”

Contrary to reports from prisoners, the Prison Service Director said that the food is a non issue. In fact, he said, “They are fed three meals each day and are treated with special diets on occasions especially for Christmas and other holidays and the same will happen during our anniversary.” The diet includes special occasions of pepper pot, baked chicken and macaroni and cheese etc, “They get better food than when they are at home.”

On the issue of reports of gang violence the Prisons Chief frankly stated, “We do not from our point of view think that there are gangs in our local prisons and this includes Camp Street too.”

He explained, however, that, “Some inmates may have had personal out of prison issues. Then when they meet up in prison they attack each other and take revenge, something we do not encourage”.

He noted two cases of prisoner violence during which one prisoner accused the other of robbing his mother. They met in prison where their issues escalated and ended in a fight.

Addressing the issue of fires being started in the Camp Street prison DSM Trotz said there were no fires recently, but rather attention seeking actions taken by prisoners.

Prisons in Guyana have been in existence over the past 180 years. Today, there are five prison locations in Guyana: The Georgetown Prison built in 1832, Mazaruni Prison built in 1843, New Amsterdam Prison built in 1847, Lusignan Prison was gazetted in 1980 and the Timehri Prison built in 1973.

There have been other temporary prisons (housing) at Belbaag, Hope, Melanie Damishana, Mon Repos, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, Dora, East Bank Demerara and Lethem in the Rupununi.

The Georgetown and New Amsterdam Prisons are known as admission prisons and it is from these locations that prisoners are transferred to the other locations.

Each of the five prisons is manned by an Officer-in-Charge and their management team. The first local Prison Director was Mr. Harold Davis, DSM.

Prisoners Flash Back

Recently pandemonium broke out in the Capital Section A of the Camp Street prison as prisoners sought to air their grievances to the media.

As part of their ploy to get attention, they started a fire burning newspapers in the Capital Section Block A of the prison. That fire resulted in officials of the Guyana Fire Service, the police, some armed prison officers and a team from Guyana Power and Light rushing to the scene.

While the fire could have been worse according to fire officers at the scene, luckily they caught it in time and were able to extinguish it before it got out of control.

The Capital Section of the prison houses three blocks, each of which has in excess of 70 prisoners and most were shouting their stories.

The prisoners’ complaints included unfair and inhumane treatment by prison officials and some police ranks, some of whom they say are favouring some prisoners over others. Allegations include prison officers being paid to set prisoners up and cause fights among one another. One prisoner confided, “Dem does take out people from cells and let other prisoners beat them up in here.”

Some shouted their need for a more effective and efficient DPP as they labeled her as unfair in the execution of her job.

They also sought to clear the air about the alleged gang fight which led to the chopping of a prisoner during a similar riotous scenario.

As it relates to that issue, the prisoners at the top of their voices debunked the story of there being a gang war in the prison. “We ain’t got no gang war in here, some people got problems with one another but is not no gang thing.

Another issue raised by the prisoners was that they are not being fed on time. “Since six we ain eat nothing.”

Then there was the issue of one prisoner who identified himself as Jermaine Otto. He said he is in the jail for a murder that he did not commit and that a constable (name given) “wanted to take me to a strong cell for another prisoner to chop me up.”

Pics saved as Camp street Prison

Caption: The unfinished Block in the Camp Street Prison compound.

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