Garth Rattray | Provide uniforms and food for the incarcerated

Last year, a few days before Christmas, our WhatsApp community notice board sent out an urgent message that read, “All residents of Oracabessa, Stewart Town and ALL the other areas, lock your vehicle and house doors. Reports are that six dangerous prisoners escaped.”

There was an active manhunt under way to recapture the escapees. The six were in a lockup for very serious charges including rape, aggravated robbery, shooting with intent, and murder. They were discovered missing during a routine cell check at 6 a.m. They made their escape by cutting their way through a ventilation grille.

I have always held the opinion that our lockups and prisons should be more secure. I believe that paucity of funds is hampering our ability to put in place modern security measures that would make it extremely difficult, perhaps impossible for incarcerated individuals to escape custody.

Retired Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, who spent 36 years in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), and five years as its Chief of Staff, then two years in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) as the Commissioner of Police, produced a deeply researched, well-written, very informative and superbly interesting article, which was published in The Gleaner on December 20, 2023. In it, he expressed the opinion that the “massive investment in national security” by this administration would have realised a far better return on investment (in reducing crime and violence) had the investment been [better] distributed in favour of our primary crime-fighting and crime prevention entity, the JCF. The piece even covered police lockups.

Because of poor state funding, family, relatives, and friends need to supply clothing, footwear, and [sometimes] food to citizens in custody. But this practice facilitates major security breaches. Bringing ‘outside’ supplies significantly increases the opportunities for smuggling contraband items inside secure areas. Contraband may be hidden inside clothes, food, and drinks. This practice also opens the door to corruption (the possible bribing of correction officers).

UNIVERSAL

Smuggling using clothes and shoes is universal. This from Canada, “We’ve had trouble before with contraband drugs being smuggled inside the clothing, cutting apart seams, placing drugs into it and then sewing them up again, taking the soles out of sneakers and shoes and re-gluing them.”

Smuggled items found include psychedelic drugs, knives, cigarettes, SIM cards, cellular phones, phone chargers, earphones, razor blades, lighters, cash, jewellery, and marijuana. Cigarettes and illicit drugs are a problem, and weapons are obviously extremely dangerous, but communication devices like cellular telephones are not innocuous because they are sometimes used to orchestrate criminal activities from behind bars. There have been several documented cases of ‘hits’ (contract killings) ordered by criminals who are in lockups or in prisons. Some continue their nefarious activities and even head their criminal empires while incarcerated.

I am aware that some correctional officers smuggle contraband into lockups and prisons; but only a few are ever caught and prosecuted.

About 20 years ago, I heard of a correctional officer in one of our ‘high-security correctional institutions’ who was receiving $10,000 per month to allow a dangerous criminal phone and DVD use. That phone was implicated in the arrangement of several murders, including that of a policeman.

I believe that, as a general rule, incarcerated individuals (detainees, remandees, and convicted prisoners) should only wear state-issued clothing (including underwear), footwear and eat state-provided food. In many other jurisdictions, prisoners must wear clothing supplied by the prison system, so-called ‘prison uniforms’. These uniforms would be very easily identifiable if prisoners should escape. These uniforms are sometimes jumpsuits but shirts and elastic waist pants resembling hospital scrubs are very popular. Obviously, our politics negates the use of orange or green, so black and white stripes would serve the purpose. I also believe that rubber slippers should be worn unless the inmate needs appropriate footwear for hard labour.

The prison uniforms would make it easy for the staff to distinguish between inmates, visitors, volunteers, outside craftsmen, and maintenance workers.

Psychological effect

They would also level the playing field because inmates would not be able to wear clothes that elevate their status among their fellow prisoners. This would reduce conflicts, bullying, and fighting. Additionally, there is a psychological effect when inmates are forced to wear ‘prison uniforms’. Having to surrender their civvies and wear a uniform helps to set the tone for their incarceration.

Over time, several videos have emerged showing prison inmates partying while wearing designer clothes and footwear and drinking expensive liquor. Those party animals may be incarcerated physically, but their minds are not. Until they are fully aware of, and immersed into the reality of their situation, they will come out relatively unchanged and that helps to cause our high rate of recidivism.

Despite the obvious security and safety benefits of totally banning outside clothes, footwear and food from lockups, detention centres and prisons, some do not agree with it. They argue that, if rehabilitation is the goal of incarceration, inmates should be allowed to wear civilian clothes in readiness for their eventual release.

Another theory is that some inmates be allowed to wear civies after several years. But I feel that will also lead to the same aforementioned problems of conflict, bullying and fighting. Perhaps civies should be reserved for inmates who are housed in minimum security facilities or are housed in separate places where they are transitioning between incarceration and being reintegrated into society. Wearing civies would be something to aspire towards.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com