Camp Street inmates still using cell phones

Apr 18, 2016 News

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– Director of Prisons says he’s unaware of situation

Even as a Commission of Inquiry continues into the deadly prison inferno, inmates of the Georgetown Prison still have access to mobile phones and social media, sources within the penitentiary said.
The use of cell phones is prohibited, but inmates have them in their possession and would call their relatives and friends.
The situation has escalated to a point where prisoners are also active users of social media sites, the source continued, explaining that whenever they were caught with the phones they would become very hostile.
Last week, a prison officer was pushed down a flight of stairs after she tried to seize a cell phone from a condemned prisoner. The prisoner, this newspaper was informed, had a weapon at the side of his waist.
Nonetheless, Director of Prisons Carl Graham yesterday stated that he was unaware that prisoners were in possession of mobile phones but promised to look into the matter.
Meanwhile, prisoner Carl Browne has appeared to be a very active member of Facebook, posting on his page daily. Browne had even spoken up about the current situation at the prison. He denied that prisoners had taken over the jail and stated that there was no need for Joint Services ranks to be there.
“It therefore means that he [Graham] has told HE President David Granger that inmates are not accepting lock down and are in the yard at nights. This is the only reason why the army can be coming at that time. Inmates are in their divisions at around 5.30pm with no stress and are in the Prison yard at about 8.30am in the morning. What Carl Greyham (Graham) is doing is trying to create a chaos with join forces and inmates to discredit this regime by the end results of the chaos,” he wrote on his page.
He stated that the only unusual thing that has occurred inside of the prison is condemned prisoners walking around in the jail yard.
However, he stated that they [the prisoners] had a right to rebel because all they wanted is sunlight.
“It is inhumane to have prisoners living in Guyana Prison and can’t get sunlight daily. Some of [t]hese condemn prisoners are there for as long as 10 years awaiting Appeal Court but can’t get sunlight unless the go to the hospital or get a visit,” he wrote.
Last Thursday, tension in the prison rose after some inmates allegedly gained access to the prison keys. The prisoners were allowed to roam free in the jail yard.
This caused 42 prison officers to send in sick leave certificates in fear for their lives.
President David Granger, last week, had ordered security to be beefed up at the prison during an emergency meeting of the National Security Committee at the Ministry of Presidency. He called for the police and the army to secure the jail.
Director of Prisons (Ag) Carl Graham was forced to seek replacements from the Timehri and Lusignan Prisons and from the Administration Division at the Camp Street Prison in order to keep the situation under control.
President Granger had instructed that the outer cordons of the prison be extended to include D’Urban, John and Bent Streets, which will be blocked off to the public except for persons residing within those areas, as is done on Camp Street.
The Guyana Police Force was ordered to assist Prison Officers in manning the Camp Street facility and the Guyana Defence Force to assist in guarding the outer cordons of its precincts.  On Friday, 12 soldiers were seen guarding the four points of the prison, along with police.
Since the deadly prison unrest in March, the committee heard that inmates have become brazen in exposing their weapons, while behaving much more aggressively toward prison wardens. Thus, the officers, being fearful for their lives, have decided to stay away.
The opposition PPP/C party on Saturday released a statement, expressing concerns about the “dangerous state of affairs at the prison”.
The opposition blamed the government and the Minister of Public Security for the current situation, stating, “It is obvious that the posture adopted by the Granger Administration as well as information emanating from the Commission of Inquiry have on the one-hand emboldened the prisoners and, on the other, brought about low morale among prison officers,” it said.
The party stated that the senior management of the Georgetown Prison and other ranks feel a sense of “abandonment’ by the coalition government. The statement blasted the government for choosing the prisoners over the officers.
“The Granger Administration must take full responsibility for this dangerous situation brought about by unhelpful decisions they have adopted and which have resulted in the unstable and life-threatening situation that currently obtains at the Georgetown Prison,” the statement read.
The party, in the statement, has called for the government to “cease immediately its pretenses at being experts and having all the answers for Public Safety and National Security”.
The prison unrest left 17 prisoners dead and several others injured. The fire was started by inmates housed in the Capital Offences section of the prison during the riot. It is believed that the men were burnt to death.
There are reports of an upsurge in cases of marijuana being thrown over the prison fences and instances where prisoners would spit on wardens and throw faeces and urine on them. It was reported that 80% of the prisoners were in possession of weapons.
Prison officers had declared that the administration has no control over the prisoners and their behavior toward the wardens.

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