The Pointe Blanche prison. (File photo)
POINTE BLANCHE--Pointe Blanche prison director Steven Carty and his team will do what is necessary to restore order at the prison if this is deemed necessary as inmates continue to lobby over a number of issues.
Justice Minister Anna Richardson made this clear during the Council of Ministers press briefing in response to a question regarding the ongoing situation with inmates at the facility.
“In the event that it becomes a situation where there is no cooperation and a lockdown is necessary, then the prison director will make that call and do whatever it is he and his management team feel is necessary to be able to restore order at the facility,” she told reporters. “And it is very important for us to keep in mind that this is a detention facility. It does mean that there are persons in there that security is necessary with and so, whatever measures that they feel is necessary at the time, they are going to take that.”
She gave insight into the issues about which inmates are concerned. “The Inmates Association has been standing on some questions they have. Despite being able to provide them with information, they are not necessarily satisfied with it and it really does have to come down with persons who feel that it is time for them to be placed on early release.”
However, she stressed that early release dates are calculated based on the convict’s verdict and time served.
“So, in discussions between my staff and the Inmates Association, as a matter of fact, I do believe that today [Wednesday – Ed.] there is another leg of discussion that is going to be on the way with legal persons who are now presenting themselves as the representatives of the Inmates Association … meeting with my staff, Judicial Affairs and some other review bodies to be able to discuss what the position of the Inmates Association is, and I won’t say demands, but requests that they have and just being able to dialogue about it to come to a consensus,” Richardson said.
