PoS prison needs help

WE ENCOURAGE our readers to support the call of Newsday columnist and penal reform advocate Debbie Jacob for donations of much-needed sanitisation items to help curb the risk of further outbreaks of covid19 or other highly infectious diseases within the prison system.

Reports are that there is currently a dire need for items like hand sanitiser, bleach, soap bars, laundry soaps and even toilet paper at the Port of Spain Prison.

At the same time, there is fear that not only might there be problems with covid19 infections if the situation is not addressed, but also diseases such as chickenpox, which is highly contagious among people who have not yet had it or been vaccinated.

“They need bleach for the constant cleaning and the misting machine,” said Ms Jacob, who is a writer well-known for her philanthropic efforts on behalf of inmates. “There is a desperate need for hand sanitiser.”

In response, Commissioner of Prisons Dennis Pulchan on Tuesday told Newsday, “Ms Jacob is a friend of the prison and has always sought donations from elsewhere for the inmates. She’s helped on many occasions, such as getting masks. It’s something she does in a philanthropic way. We appreciate it.”

But as laudable as this instance of advocacy is – and we fully encourage others to endorse it through their own acts of generosity – why must it come to this for the provision of the most rudimentary of items?

Have bleach, soap and hand sanitiser staged a jailbreak?

Disturbingly, there is a lot to suggest that not only are shortages a way of life at this particular prison, but it may well be that the problem is widespread, extending to other facilities across the country.

“I think this is impossible to plan for,” Ms Jacob noted of sudden outbreaks behind prison walls. “No matter what you get, it is not enough.”

However, the State has been fully aware that we are in the throes of a pandemic of a highly infectious disease for a long time now. Indeed, there have been several waves and clusters of this virus – extending as far as Carrera Island Prison – over the last few months.

The arrival of the highly contagious delta variant should speed up the procurement and supply of sanitary items, particularly since the prison system comprises about a dozen facilities in which inmates are housed in extremely confined layouts, with far from ideal ventilation.

“A place like Port of Spain Prison, you have to be constantly cleaning,” Ms Jacob revealed. "There’s no running water in the cells.”

With critical care in the parallel healthcare system already at full capacity, a wave of prison infections will almost certainly bring the entire system down if this situation is not swiftly addressed – whether through state action or charity.