Noting that every penal institution has its vulnerabilities, Superintendent of Her Majesty’s Prison Dr. Elliston Rahming said on Wednesday that there is no simple answer to the question of whether the Fox Hill institution is prepared in the event of another escape.
“Youﾒre not going to reach a point where youﾒve plugged all the vulnerabilities to a penal institution,” he said.
“Itﾒs an ongoing, ever changing process, and so 100 years from now we would still be seeking ways to further strengthen and fortify the institution, because inmates are always thinking, and they have more time on their hands than we do, [considering] how to beat the system and how to get out, and so weﾒve got to stay a step ahead of them.”
Speaking at a press conference at the prison, Dr. Rahming also addressed the issue, raised during the six-week-old coronerﾒs inquest into the prison break on January 17, of prison officer training.
He noted that a new 180-page training manual had been produced, covering a more comprehensive range of issues than covered in previous training materials.
The police are vetting 75 people who are expected to begin working at the prison in a month or so, according to Dr. Rahming.
Some of the prison officers involved in recapturing four men who busted out of Her Majestyﾒs Prison on January 17 are still at work in the prison, while some are said to be “on vacation.”
And according to Dr. Rahming, all the prisoners involved are “safe and secure,” though he would not be more specific about the manner and location of those prisonersﾒ incarceration.
As far as the prison officers whose names were forwarded to the police for further investigation after a prison investigation into their possible complicity in the escape, Dr. Rahming said any action taken against them would be up to the police.
As the coronerﾒs inquest into that escape continues in its sixth week, concerns continue to be raised about treatment of prisoners by prison officers, with allegations of brutality coming from a number of inmates who have taken the witness box in the inquest.
Dr. Rahming insisted that the prison does not tolerate brutality by officers toward prisoners.
“Wherever we find that (brutality) has taken place, immediate and swift action is taken to deal with it,” he said, revealing that an officer accused of beating an inmate six months ago has been referred to the police.
On the question of prison officersﾒ conduct, Dr. Rahming contended that the vast majority of those officers are honest, decent, hard-working people.
“When officers are found to be wanting, from the standpoint of integrity, or complicit in their relations with inmates, we take a very firm stand against it,” Dr. Rahming said.
“There are persons that we refer to the police; we have our own internal prosecution system, where staff members are prosecuted internally, and if the matter is grave enough, or has legal implications, we refer it to the police.”
Asked whether the $20 maximum fine is the only result of the internal investigation, Dr. Rahming said the prison could also refer the officer to the Department of Public Personnel, which might demote that officer or institute a number of other penalties.
Twelve of an undisclosed number of broken surveillance cameras damaged last year by lightning have been replaced at Her Majestyﾒs Prison, which along with two ongoing construction projects are expected to bring the prison in line with 21st century standards.
“The point is, while we will never forget the tragic events of January 17, Her Majestyﾒs Prison has moved beyond that fateful day. Rather than allowing that tragedy to undo us, it has propelled us to redouble our efforts to take the prison where it ought to have been at least a decade ago,” Dr. Rahming asserted.
A $60,000 canopy under construction at the main entrance to Her Majestyﾒs Prison will feature what Dr. Rahming calls “airport-like security” measures including walk-through and baggage scanners.
This canopy will be completed in about three months, Dr. Rahming said.
And in a year, a proper perimeter around the prison will be complete, he said. That construction is also underway, and is expected to cost $1.3 million.
The perimeter will “consume” more than a quarter million concrete blocks, and miles of fencing and wire, and both the canopy and the new perimeter are being built by prison inmates.
Such measures, he noted, could be found in prisons in progressive countries around the world.
Dr. Rahming also touted the new entrance to the prisonﾒs maximum-security wing, another instance of airport-like security conditions.
“This new development should significantly curb the introduction of contraband into the prison, whether by inmates, visitors or staff,” Dr. Rahming said.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
