Another prison officer murdered

ANOTHER prison officer has been murdered.

Reports are that Darron Francis, who was based at the Prison Service radio station, was found dead at the side of his Hindustan, Princes Town home shortly after four o'clock this morning. He was shot once in the head.

Police said the murder came hours after prison authorities received a report that a 'hit' had been placed on the life of a prison officer. Francis' murder comes three weeks after head of the Maximum Security Prison in Golden Grove, Arouca Supt Wayne Jackson was gunned down in the yard of his Malabar home.

Jackson's murder led to the National Security Minister Stuart Young announcing the formation of an inter-agency task force to deal specifically with threats made against prison officers and crimes committed against them.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith later said police officers would be operating behind prison walls to weed out contraband items making its way into the prisons and also deal with threats against prison officers.

The latest murder came days after prisoners threatened that if their cell phones are confiscated, more prison officers will be murdered. Up to press time, no arrest had been made in officer Francis' murder and investigations are continuing.