Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) in Fox Hill is a breeding ground for criminal activity

Inside The Prison Walls

By Rupert Missick JR:

IT’S long been said that the overcrowding at Her Majesty’s Prison has been a breeding ground for criminal activity.

It is a place where persons convicted of relatively petty, non-violent or victimless crimes are housed alongside career criminals.

This, compounded by decades of deplorable living conditions, makes HMP a graduate school for those who become some of the nation’s most hardened offenders, according to lawyer Paul Moss.

He said: “When you have a situation where a person who may have been accused of disorderly conduct ends up inside the prison you are not helping. You have violent crimes, crimes where a person may be injured, where a person may be traumatised or killed. Those are different from other crimes. So when a person misses a court date that is different from someone accused of rape, murder or armed robbery.”

Mr Moss said because the Bahamas has the highest rate of incarceration in the Caribbean, serious consideration needs to be given to changing the prison from a punitive institution to a rehabilitative facility.

Her Majesty’s Prison continues to fail to meet international standards, with overcrowding and access to adequate medical care presenting major problems in the men’s maximum-security block.

“I don’t know how we can believe putting people in that condition can help them come out better it’s just not going to happen,” Mr Moss said.

In August last year, authorities reported that the daily population of the prison and the remand centre exceeded 1,600, compared with 1,300 in October 2011.

Minister of National Security Bernard Nottage characterised the extent of overcrowding at the prison as “unacceptable”, attributing the overcrowding to the large number of petty criminals incarcerated and the backlog in processing at the remand centre.

In June, the prison superintendent reported the maximum-security wing of the prison held nearly 900 inmates, which was twice the number of inmates it was built to house when constructed by authorities in 1953.

Authorities reported that as many as six inmates were confined to cells intended for one or two prisoners. Others are housed in poorly ventilated and poorly lit cells that lacked regular running water.

In 2010 authorities installed composting toilets in an attempt to move away from the unsanitary practice of removing human waste by bucket, or “slopping”.

“When one sees the way food is delivered to inmates in huge pots sometimes dragged through the corridors. If there is a chicken, the inmate inside of the cell will give their bowl and the chicken is placed in the bowl with the hands of the inmate serving. Even if he has gloves on it is the most pointless thing because although he has gloves on his hands are touching the bars, touching the crates, touching all manner of things. Those things can be corrected - if there was a will to do it - overnight,” Mr Moss said.

According to a report entitled: “Rehabilitation of Inmates: A National Imperative” by former Superintendent of Prisons Dr Elliston Rahming, for every 270 citizens in the Bahamas, one is incarcerated.

In terms of the size of its prison population, the Bahamas ranks ninth in the world and number one in the Caribbean on a per capita basis. The country has some 435 persons behind bars per 100,000 population.

Mr Moss, who makes frequent visits to HMP, points out that this and the conditions at the prison not only have an affect on the incarcerated but also on the prison officers who work in those conditions.

“It dehumanises them, makes them feel like they are not only punished but being meted out cruel and inhumane punishment and that makes them more angry from what I have seen.”

While the relatively new remand centre has helped to alleviate the overcrowding, Mr Moss said the centre itself is overcrowded.

He said: “I believe it can be corrected if there is an holistic view of the prison system. Persons need to have access to resources that can allow them to redeem themselves and have some recompense. The only way for that to happen is to establish another prison outside of New Providence for sentenced men and permit HMP today to be the one for intake or remand.”

He said that many forget that a person who was once incarcerated will be out on the street again.

“Sometimes you would be lucky and see when a person has been released from the prison and unless they have the opportunity to work on the scheme they would not be given anything.

“Because we have failed to rehabilitate them in a way that would allow them to come back into society it goes back again and the same crimes or worse crimes are committed. Society suffers by being negligent in not permitting wholesale rehabilitation,” Mr Moss said.

September 17, 2013

Tribune 242 

Caribbean Blog International

The saga of illicit trading in The Bahamas began well before narcotics trafficking ...with bootlegging and piracy... ...So entwined is Bahamian history with smuggling and outrunning the law, it permeates Bahamian culture... ...The Bahamas cannot afford to lose investor confidence with the country’s governing stability marred by increased criminal activity

Drug trafficking via The Bahamas

thenassauguardian editorial

With over 700 islands spread across thousands of miles of water, The Bahamas’ coastline provides innumerable opportunities to smuggle drugs, weapons and humans.  There are simply too many places to hide, stash, and transit illegal goods and too few resources to track, locate, and arrest perpetrators.

The Bahamas has the uncanny ability to attract so-called dubious individuals – from financiers avoiding extradition or taxes, to drug and human traffickers.  Our island nation of some 350,000 does little to halt the perception that participation in illegal activities is welcomed here.

Drug trafficking is alive and well in The Bahamas as evidenced by the stash of 345 pounds of cocaine worth $2.5 million found at North West Cay, off Great Inagua.  The joint operation between the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) attests to the crucial coordination between The Bahamas and U.S. governments to thwart drug smuggling.

The Bahamas has a partner with vast resources to help combat narcotics trafficking, but unless Bahamians make a commitment to prosecute and incarcerate dealers in a timely manner, drug trafficking will continue to proliferate across the islands.  The Bahamas must also commit to harsher sentences for those caught smuggling large amounts of narcotics.

As vast as the waters of The Bahamas are, the airways are not immune to drug transit.  In just two months, police have reported the confiscation of over 50 pounds of cocaine at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).  In August police allege an individual upon arrival to customs was found with four and a half pounds of cocaine; in mid-July police allege an individual with over seven pounds of cocaine was discovered; and in early July over 40 pounds of cocaine was found on a commercial airline after police acted on information from U.S. Customs & Border Protection personnel.

The Bahamas must press forward in the fight to combat the trafficking of drugs through our country.  Though it may never cease completely, we cannot ignore the affiliation of drug trafficking to other crimes being committed.  We only need to look at Mexico.

The saga of illicit trading in The Bahamas began well before narcotics trafficking with bootlegging and piracy.  So entwined is Bahamian history with smuggling and outrunning the law, it permeates Bahamian culture.  But set now in the global age, The Bahamas cannot afford to lose investor confidence with the country’s governing stability marred by increased criminal activity.

Sep 06, 2012

thenassauguardian editorial

Caribbean Blog International

Senior Justice Jon Isaacs addresses controversial bail issue

Judge addresses controversial bail issue
By KRYSTEL ROLLE ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ krystel@nasguard.com:



While acknowledging that every person accused of committing a crime is entitled to apply for bail, Senior Justice Jon Isaacs said Saturday he would have no difficulty denying it to a person accused of a serious crime if the case is tried within a reasonable period of time.

Isaacs was reacting to the government's declaration in the Speech from the Throne that it will bring an amendment to Parliament which would further restrict the right to bail for people charged with serious crimes, and to limit the circumstances under which bail may be granted.

"The only difficulty I would have is if persons are left to languish in prison for inordinate periods of time," said Isaacs, who was speaking during a panel discussion on 'Crime and its effects on our community', which was held on the greens of Super Value food store in Winton Estates. The panel discussion, which was attended by scores of Bahamians, was a part of the police and the Eastern Community Association's Fun Fantastic Festival.

"If persons are brought to trial within a reasonable period of time I have no difficulty with them remaining until such time as they face their accusers," Isaacs said.

Isaacs told The Nassau Guardian following the panel discussion that in most cases accused criminals are left in prison for long periods of time before their cases come to trial.

"That's where I have a problem," he said.

Asked what he considers a reasonable time for a case to come before the Supreme Court, Isaacs said every case has to be evaluated individually based on the evidence.

Thomas Evans, QC, who was also a member of the panel, said he considers two or three years to be a reasonable amount of time.

"But the reality on the ground is that you're [not] getting a case through the system until about five or six years," Evans said.

During the panel discussion, Isaacs recalled one case where four individuals were on bail for 16 years before their case went to trial.

"Imagine if you will if those persons were not allowed on bail for 16 years," he said. "Imagine their sense of grievance. What would the community offer by way of compensation? There is no redress for a person who has to spend time at Her Majesty's Prison awaiting trial."

Acknowledging that crime is spiraling out of control, Isaacs said he understands the society's call for harsher measures.

"There are those who advocate no bail for those accused of crime and harsher punishment for those convicted of offenses," Isaacs said. "While there may be some efficacy in the effort to deter persons from committing certain offenses by the imposition of stiff penalties, when one seeks to deprive those alleged to have committed offenses of their liberty without the benefit of a trial one has overstepped the permissible bounds of response to crime unless one is willing to ensure such persons receive trials within a reasonable time."

The government noted in the Speech from the Throne that a number of people who commit crimes do so while on bail pending trial for other offenses. That fact has led many Bahamians, over the past several months, to advocate for the complete restriction of bail for those accused of serious offenses.

Isaacs added that the court cannot pay attention to the whims and fancies of the community.

He pointed out that it would be hard for the government to undo what has already been done.

"What happens when you create a precedence - you cannot re-shut the door. Once that floodgate is open, the water is going to go through. Having allowed bail for one you must then consider bail for all," he said.

Isaacs added that it is not an easy decision to grant bail for people accused of serious crimes. Isaacs noted that when considering bail, judges have to consider the circumstances surrounding the incident, the offense, and the prosecution's reasons why a judge should oppose bail.

He said the main reasons why bail is denied is if the accused is considered a flight risk, or if there is reason to believe that the accused will re-offend while on bail.

"But if no such evidence is produced to the court at the time when bail is being considered then there is no real reason to keep the person in custody," Isaacs said.

Evans had similar sentiments.

"I would suggest that [the accused] ought not to be given bail if there is evidence to suggest that he is likely to commit offenses while he is on bail because what that does is jeopardize the right to secure people in society and the protection of the law and the security of the [alleged victim]."

Evans compared the job of passing judgment on an accused criminal before the court convicts him or her to walking "a very tight rope".

"It's very difficult to do," he said. "I know a little about that. It's a very difficult job. The bottom line is this, the society cannot be left out in the equation. What we have in our country now is a situation where we're almost overrun by criminal activity. The numbers are startling — 28 murders in the first four months of the year. It's astounding."

He pointed out that the prosecutor would have to prove why bail should be restricted for an individual accused of a crime.

"So once the prosecutors do their job in that respect then perhaps the courts will be persuaded to say, 'look given the facts that I have before me, given the circumstances of this particular case, I have to deny this man bail because otherwise there is a likelihood that the protection of the law and the security of the society is going to be compromised by his release'. But you can't expect the judge to do that if you can't prove it before him. We don't run kangaroo courts around here."


May 3, 2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International