Ministry gearing to help inmates

Minister of Social Development Camille Robinson-Regis is pledging available resources of her ministry to assist prisoners who are to be released under government’s project to cut overcrowding in the penal institutions in light of the covid19 pandemic.

She says she will await personal details of inmates set for release, adding, “The ministry has quite a number of grants including one to help people start businesses. Once we know where the needs lie, they can access the grants. We have to know what the numbers are and what the needs are. We will get that information.”

Since the Prime Minister said low-risk inmates will be freed to try to curb any local spread of the covid19, questions have arisen as to social support for the many expected beneficiaries in a low-level economy by way of jobs, housing, medical care and counselling.

Robinson-Regis said, “The ministry assists with issues like that, but all of that detail (of inmates) we don’t have as yet.

“Whatever is available to citizens of TT will be available to them from the ministry.

“When they come out, they will be in the vulnerable-citizen class, and that is the group we help.”

Asked if NGOs will also help, she said the ministry has links with NGOs and gives a subvention to Vision on Mission and hoped such NGOs would step up to the plate to help.

Asked if she had any time line to get a report on the cohort expected to be freed, she said this will be handled by the Ministry of National Security and Office of Attorney General.

Newsday asked what special provision the ministry would offer to mitigate these challenges so the daily pressures of life do not push freed inmates back into errant ways. Robinson-Regis replied, “The only assurance I can give at this time is that the ministry has services available and will make them available once we know the need is there.”

Head of the Single Fathers Association, Rhondall Feeles, supported the PM’s call to release inmates jailed for non-criminal offences, and cited failure to pay child maintenance, and traffic violations.

He said that days ago, his organisation noted prison overcrowding, the high cost of housing inmates and the unexpected economic downturn as good reasons to temporarily stop issuing child-maintenance warrants and enforcing existing ones.

“This call, however, is not one to discontinue the payment of child maintenance, but rather to discourage imprisonment of these non-criminal offenders during this covid19 pandemic period.”

Prison Officers Association (POA) head Ceron Richards held a briefing at the POA office in Arouca to support the release of inmates, especially those convicted of non-violent offences such as drug offences and soliciting, who had served half their sentences, plus elderly inmates most at risk from covid19.

“The State is being attacked by a foreign germ and it is the responsibility of all essential services to come together. It calls for sacrifice to come to work in this situation which is deteriorating rapidly.”