Govt exploring options to reduce jail time for inmates

The Home Affairs Ministry and the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) are presently discussing ways in which they could undertake sweeping reforms designed to further reduce jail time for prisoners who have been demonstrating good behaviour.

At the 39th Anniversary celebration of the Guyana Prison Service – on Friday, September 23 – Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn explained that by focusing on rehabilitation strategies, these reforms touch every aspect of the prison system, from an inmate’s initial intake to his or her return to the community.
The current reforms at the prisons are targeted to address the core behavioural issues that result in criminality, and the goal is to reduce the likelihood that inmates re-offend either while being incarcerated or after their release.
“We talk about correction services and we talk about now. How do we reintegrate prisoners into society? How do we provide more services which would take us along that path? How do we reintroduce prisoners into the communities, where those who may have been victims of their actions would not feel aggrieved by any reintroduction into the communities?” the Minister explained. “How do we make the communities themselves safe and comfortable with the reintroductions? How do we reduce the length of time they might have to wait?” he further explained.
He said that while the waiting time of the prisoners is not the fault of the prison, the authorities are still thinking about how they can better the system.
Recently, a ‘Fresh Start’ programme was also launched for inmates who have served their time and would be going back into society.
“We talked about the nutritional standards, food, the fruits, and all those things which the authorities have which will provide the basis for them being respected, and provide the basis for them to be reintroduced. This ‘Fresh Start’ programme is what we started giving out as a pilot, and I want to see many more prisoners benefiting from it as we go along…where prisoners leaving the institutions would have the ability, after training in the prisons…to give them the tools of the trade…”, he said.
Minister Benn noted that both the prison system and society must view inmates as people who could have the ability to better themselves and become productive citizens. He said the GPS is being urged to place more effort into rehabilitation of inmates, and not just keep them locked away. He said that by focusing on rehabilitation strategies, these reforms touch every aspect of the prison system: from an inmate’s initial intake to his or her return to the community.
The Minister has said he strongly believes that all inmates deserve opportunity to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society, and they should be offered the opportunity.