In his feature address before the Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections and Prison Services conference held in Guyana from June 9 to June 13, 2008 Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee stated that the matter of overcrowding is one of the greatest challenges for prisons administrations, not only in Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean but further afield.

Rohee noted that breaches in security, the fast spread of communicable diseases, high level of stress among the prison population as well as difficulties in effective management by prison administration were some of the results of overcrowding.

He told the gathering that some prisons in the United States had taken the initiative to release a few of a certain class of inmates as a means to reducing the prison population.

CURB is aware that, at present, the California prison system is being sued as a result of overcrowding and the collateral consequences to inmates. On Friday 27th June, 2008 judges hearing the case said they would go ahead with a trial to determine whether overcrowding is the primary cause of unconstitutionally poor medical and mental healthcare in the state’s 33 prisons.

International Research shows that both physical and sexual violence in prisons flourish in the atmosphere of over-crowding.

In mid-June High Court Justice Indra Harpirashad-Charles, along with her court staff and press toured Her Majesty’s Prison in Balsam Ghut, British Virgin islands to view the state of the facilities.

Journalists and the Judge were informed of the extensive work that was being conducted by the prison farm as well as some of the vocational activities open to prisoners. Farm produce was available for sale in the wider community and members of the public were said to be allowed to patronise some of the skilled prisoners to make clothing, artwork and furniture.

During a court sentencing in late May, 2008 Justice Charles had been informed that the prison was only three persons short of attaining its maximum capacity. It has now been faced with the additional challenges of accommodating juvenile offenders on remand and on conviction.

As in many Caribbean territories, the majority of the prison population is on remand. Here, the remand wing was so crowded that additional cots had to be set up in the hall. Moreover, during the day the prison facilities experiences an intense heat that beats down on the poorly ventilated buildings and crowded cellblocks, posing a hazard to the health of inmates.

In early June, 2008 31-year old Surindranauth Bhoojnauth was found hanging in the police cells at Mahaica in Guyana after he allegedly hung himself with his belt from the ventilation window in the cells.

This is the third alleged suicide by hanging in Guyanese police cells for the year, after 2 men were found in the Diamond and Enmore Police Station lock-ups respectively.

Relatives of Bhoojnauth have criticised police for not following procedure to remove his belt, shoe laces and other potential dangerous items when they placed him in the cell. They are also claiming that due to a previous physical injury, Bhoojnauth would have been unable to reach the ventilation window to secure the belt to hang himself.

Moreover, his relatives deny that Bhoojnauth was suicidal at all and say that he was only charged for a minor offence and had experienced greater previous challenges in life successfully.

However, they claim that Bhoojnauth was physically assaulted by police immediately before being placed in the cells and are demanding that officers on duty at the time of his death be held responsible for breaching standard police procedures.

Investigations are ongoing.

In Trinidad and Tobago, there has been yet another prison inmate death, purportedly by suicide. The latest victim is 28 year old Sunil Ali who was recently charged with the brutal slaying of 8 year old Hope Arismandez.

Arrested shortly after the little girl’s disappearance on May 24, 2008 Sunil Ali allegedly confessed his crime of rape and murder to the police and led them to the body of young Hope in a cane field. While in police custody he had reportedly indicated an intention to take his own life.

Prison sources indicated to the media that Ali was on suicide watch while on the remand section of the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca and had been placed in a cell by himself to protect him from violent attack by other prisoners. Nonetheless, Ali managed to hang himself with his bed sheet some time before 7pm on Friday 30th May 2008.

It is believed that Ali was mocked by inmates in cells around him and consequently, he may have slipped into a state of depression leading to his suicide.

CURB is alarmed at the rate of self harm which has occurred in Trinidad and Tobago prisons in recent years. We urge the Ministry of National Security to develop safe cells for inmates believed to be at risk of suicide or other forms of self harm as has been done in the United Kingdom.

Just as the prison at Balsam Ghut approaches three inmates short of reaching its maximum of 120, the British Virgin Islands premier, Ralph O’Neal collected the keys to the Territory’s new female prison and immigration detention centre during an official ceremony on Friday 30th May 2008.

The Premier told the gathering that the modern trends towards a globalised community have increased pressures for governments to provide detention facilities that are capable of achieving world standards for safety and security.

Minister for Prisons Honourable Andrew Fahie stated that any person who is detained - including every sentenced prisoner, whether male or female, refugee, expatriate or local - has the right to conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity, adequate accommodation, proper nutrition and medical treatment.

Minister Fahie pledged to do his utmost to continue to ensure that every effort is made to continue to upgrade and provide adequately for all individuals in this community, even those that are incarcerated.

The new female prison and immigration detention centre are housed in the same building. The Immigration Department is responsible for the top floor of the two-storey building, while Her Majesty’s Prison will utilise the ground floor as the new female prison and juvenile facility. All of the different sections are completely sealed off from one another.

In the Barbados Parliament recently, Minister of Family Dr Esther Byer Suckoo whilst debating a resolution for the national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS prevention and control 2008-2013 said the government did not intend to sanction the distribution of condoms to prisoners in any of the nation’s penal institutions.

Dr Byer-Suckoo reportedly stated that condoms are not safe for anal sex, adding that prisoners need to be empowered with harm reduction strategies, whilst limiting the mobility of offenders. She emphasised the need to be able to reach prisoners with the strategies for the prevention of HIV because the government was aware that the potential for transmission of HIV in the prisons is high.

The Minister said that the government would utilise a variety of strategies to encourage prisoners who have been sexually assaulted and abused in custody to come forward to receive competent and effective counselling, treatment and care.

She was ready to acknowledge, however, that for such an atmosphere to be created, there needs to be the assurance for prisoners that their human rights will be protected in the prison and that, as a rape victim in the prison, they will have recourse for action.

CURB is in high praise for the Barbados government for its willingness to publicly address this issue rather than engage in denials and hide behind senseless rhetoric. We hope that other Caribbean governments follow this sterling example and move with decisiveness to stop prison abuse in the region.

Superintendent of Prisons in the British Virgin islands, Kenton Callwood, recently expressed concern over the lack of facilities at the prisons to deal with juveniles. His statement was made during the recent trial of a 16 year old youth who was sentenced to 6 years in prison by Justice Indra Charles on a conviction of manslaughter.

In her judgment, Justice Charles reported the superintendent as saying that the prison is ill-prepared to deal with a long-term juvenile inmate who for the most part will be isolated. Also, major changes will have to be made to meet the minimum standards required for dealing with juvenile inmates.

The judge hoped that this case would encourage the government of the BVI territory to move quickly to provide a proper facility to house its young people who have breached the law. According to the judge, although a new section for juveniles has been created in the new female section of the prison, the needs of minors cannot be met.

In addition, she said juveniles in adult facilities are extremely vulnerable from not only adult inmates but also from abuses from untrained staff.

In Trinidad and Tobago, CURB has been working quietly behind the scenes to secure a visit to the twin-island nation by representatives of the international organisation, Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR).

The purpose of the initial visit would be for SPR to meet with Prison Commissioner, John Rougier, become acquainted with the situation in local prisons, the intentions of prison authorities, and the needs of all stakeholders, including rape crisis counsellors, prison volunteers and other agencies in treating with prison sexual assault and abuse.

SPR has over 30 years experience in advocating for the rights of prisoners to be free from sexual assault and abuse and played an integral role in the passage in the U.S.A. of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.

Thus far, SPR has offered to fund its initial visit to Trinidad and Tobago and may well return before the end of 2008 to conduct such workshops and other training sessions for prison officers, chaplains, volunteers and crisis responders as may be deemed necessary.

SPR had hoped to visit the Caribbean from 26th to 30th May, 2008. However, in an effort to accommodate the Prison Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago whose schedule for that period was said to be extremely busy, SPR opted to postpone the trip.

At present, CURB is awaiting a response from the Prison Commissioner as to whether several alternative dates in July and August 2008 proposed by SPR are convenient for him to accommodate them.

The Caribbean can expect a report on conditions at Her Majesty’s Prisons to be released soon, according to St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights president and prominent Attorney-at-Law, Ms. Nicole Sylvester.

The report is based on interviews conducted at the prison and observations made by SVGHRA members during visits to the penal institution. Members of the Association have seen prisoners who have received fractured bones and other injuries while they were incarcerated.

Ms. Sylvester was hopeful that the new proposed multi-million dollar prison facility being constructed at Belle Isle, would improve the conditions of inmates and pledged the support of the Association if the facility becomes a reality. However, she believes that the proposed construction should not relieve the prison authorities of responsibility for the manner in which the inmates at Her Majesty Prison are being housed and treated.

Asked by the media about a previous promise by the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to construct a juvenile detention centre, Ms. Sylvester was saddened that the assurances were never fulfilled. She indicated that her Association would continue to agitate for a separate facility for juveniles in the justice system.

CURB will be very interested in reading the report of the SVGHRA and believes that citizens in all Caribbean territories should develop a greater interest in what is taking place behind prison walls to ensure that their tax dollars are not being utilised to perpetrate, condone or cover up physical and or sexual abuses on prison inmates.

CURB has added a new feature to the Resources Page of the Stop Prison Abuse website.

Now you can see and hear brief animated video testimonies of sexual assaults which took place in Trinidad and Tobago prisons.

Hear the experiences of a lad from the Youth Training Centre, a girl from the Women Prison and a man who witnessed repeated sexual abuse of an inmate while on remand.

We encourage you to join with us to Stop prison Abuse. It’s Not Part of the Sentence!