“Once a man has hope, he will not misbehave” – Prison Supt says hope reduces crime

…as Prison Service looks to rehabilitative initiatives

Superintendent of Prisons David Shepard says hope is one of the most effective tools in reducing criminal behaviour among incarcerated individuals and preventing reoffending. During a discussion on rehabilitation initiatives within the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), Shepard explained that programmes focused on family connection, skill-training and personal development are designed to instil hope in inmates. “Because once a man has hope, he will not continue to breach rules, breach regulations, misbehave,” Shepard said. He explained that family bonding initiatives, particularly during special periods such as Christmas, provide inmates with emotional reassurance and motivation to change. “It gives them hope… to know that somebody, or my family, still loves me; they still care about me, even though I may run afoul of the law.” According to Shepard, inmates who maintain meaningful relationships with their families are more likely to comply with prison rules and engage in rehabilitation programmes.

“He’ll have that hope that, ‘look, my family is here, I’m happy that they’re here, I’m happy that they’re coming to see me, I’m happy that they love me, that they care about me.’” Hope, he said, is also reinforced through vocational training initiatives that equip inmates with skills they can use upon release. “The Fresh Start initiative is a means of giving them hope. Again, once they know that somebody cares, they show care.” Shepard noted that inmates often enter the prison system without any marketable skills but leave with vocational training that empowers them to live honestly. “Many inmates come to prison with no skills at all, and they leave prison not with just one but multiple skills.” He emphasised that the prison system is not solely about punishment. “Prison is not just about lock away. We have to help to develop these men and women who come to prison, help them to realise themselves; help them to know who they are.” According to the superintendent, instilling hope has already shown positive results, including reduced conflict and declining recidivism. “Once we find that we can develop those skills, we equip them, and we see that the recidivism rate has gone down and will continue to decrease.” Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs designed a programme aimed at bolstering the efforts undertaken to rehabilitate inmates and to provide them with the requisite skills for their reintegration into society. Code-named “A Fresh Start”, the programme is geared towards providing a toolkit with the basic needs to persons who are leaving the prison system.