EDITORIAL - The inevitable return of errant compatriots

There are 11,400 foreign nationals in Britain's prisons, and with a dramatically reduced budget, Justice Minister Ken Clarke wants them to complete their sentences in their home countries. The majority has been jailed for violent crimes and sexual offences, with a significant number convicted for drug offences. The offenders are from 160 countries, with Jamaicans and Nigerians heading the list.

Deportation or transfer of criminals is a highly emotional subject. And with more than 900 Jamaicans in prisons in the United Kingdom (UK), it is predictable that National Security Minister Dwight Nelson would become very nervous about a wide-scale transfer of prisoners. For one, our local prisons are already overcrowded and embarrassingly under-resourced.

Added to that, there is a feeling among the anxious populace that deportees have helped to orchestrate criminality and violent acts all across the country. An estimated 40,000 convicts have been deported to Jamaica from the United States, Canada and Britain between 1996 and 2007, and many have been implicated in criminal acts. After completing their sentences, these 900-plus transfers would also be free to return to society. The question is: how equipped and motivated are they to live crime-free lives?

Transfer agreement

The UK's Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 1984, demands that offenders agree to their transfer. The Jamaican government signed a transfer agreement with Britain in 2007 but there are indications that it has not yet been ratified. Research shows only 41 prisoners have so far been transferred while 64 Britons were returned home. The majority have spurned Britain's offer of £3,500 and have decided to stay put.

This is not the first time that the UK has tried to shake off the immense burden of caring for foreign nationals in their prisons. It is estimated that the annual cost of looking after a prisoner is in the region of £45,000.

In an era of diminishing resources, the UK's Justice Ministry's budget has been slashed by 23 per cent. David Cameron's government, formed by a coalition of a left-of-centre party and a right-of-centre party, wants to make Whitehall more businesslike. In keeping with its rehabilitation revolution agenda, it is actively seeking to dismantle in specific and concrete ways the old style of doing business. For example, in a bid to reduce the prison population, the government plans to close five prisons by transferring mentally ill offenders to hospitals, reforming, sentencing and returning foreign prisoners to their home countries.

Serious about shedding

Despite protestations from afar, Britain appears serious about shedding this awesome burden. We note that back in November last year the government signed a European Council Convention which enables the UK to transfer convicts without their consent to 34 signatory countries. There are even suggestions in Europe that development aid should be linked to prisoner transfers.

We envision that it won't be long before we must face the inevitable and accept our nationals, who continue to sully Jamaica's good name by disregarding the laws of the countries in which they live. Mr Nelson and the Government must now think of how to make lemonade with the lemons that they will be handed. How can these convicts be motivated to make a meaningful contribution to Jamaica? Any reform of the penal system must consider alternative corrective programmes that will reduce the cost of operating prisons and halt the revolving door of recidivism.

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