THE PRISON RIOTS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

Mar 07, 2016 Editorial

One of the greatest challenges facing the government is how to improve the poor services being administered to inmates in the country’s prisons. But it needs a proactive approach to bring about such long overdue changes. Moving at a snail’s pace will only compound the problems. That the Camp Street Prison has been a relic of colonialism is not new, but there has been little effort to relocate this “eyesore” from the center of Georgetown. However, because of the Camp Street riots, prison reform, which is long overdue, will now become a high priority for the government.
When in opposition, the government had promised to reform the prison system to make it more tenable for the prisoners to survive, but so far, there has been very little change. Now 17 prisoners are dead in Guyana’s worst prison riots, and blaming the prisoners is poor comfort to the families who have lost their loved ones.
Even though the government will launch an investigation to determine the causes of the riots, they are glaring to many in the public. Over the years, there have been constant complaints by prisoners and their relatives about the poor services being rendered to inmates at the Camp Street Prison, but apparently, they fell on deaf ears.
Almost every adult in Guyana knows about the inhumane conditions that exist at the Camp Street Prison. It is stink and overcrowded with very poor basic human amenities such as running water, poor quality of food, unflushed urinals and toilets, not to mention the brutality and the mistreatment of prisoners by some prison officers and the long delays of trials by the justice system.
Simply put, Guyana’s prisons are primitive and were once criticized by the Human Rights Commission for being overcrowded. But very little has been done by the previous administration to improve the situation. And after nine months in office, the government has not produced any plan on prison reform.
This is why many in the public believe that the “buck” should stop with the President and the said Minister but as usual, there will be scapegoats such as the Deputy Director of Prisons who was sent on administrative leave. The riots have brought to light some deep and fundamental issues that exist in the prison systems which must be addressed to prevent a recurrence.
The Camp Street Prison is more than 180 years old. Built in 1832, it was originally erected to house 350 inmates, but subsequent expansion has increased that amount to 590.
Today, there are almost 1000 prisoners in that facility. Indeed, the country’s three main prisons located in Georgetown, Mazaruni and New Amsterdam are either overcrowded or under staffed. The government through the Minister must understand that prisoner rights matter and they must be protected by the state.
Earlier, the government had called for more fines and less incarceration for misdemeanor offences such as having a marijuana joint. Canada and most countries in the European Union have enacted laws to decriminalize the use of a small quantity of marijuana.
Likewise, twenty three states in the US have done the same for medical reasons. The almost daily sentencing or remand of young men and an increasing number of women to serve time in the overcrowded prisons for misdemeanor offences is disturbing. It seems that common sense has been thrown out of the window by those in authority, including some Magistrates.
After almost fifty years of Independence, Guyana’s prisons are in a mess and so are the public hospitals where people are dying from simple ailments.
The most recent case is Richard Dundas of Kildonan Village on the Corentyne who died at the Port Mourant Hospital from a cut on his ankle by a broken bottle. Also, a high percentage of students from the public schools are still failing the hard sciences.
If nothing else, the prison riots have brought to light that urgent reforms are needed in the prison system and all social institutions, but they cannot be a knee-jerk reaction, but must involve the input of all stakeholders.

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THE PRISON RIOTS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

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