Hinds promises better-secured prison facilities

After visiting the dormitories where five inmates were being kept at the Golden Grove Prison, Arouca, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds says plans are underway to strengthen security in this area.

Hinds, flanked by senior prison officers, visited the area on Tuesday afternoon to see, first-hand, the area where the inmates escaped.

On Sunday night, inmates Kurien Douglas, 26, Theon Thomas, 23, Anthony Seepersad, 28, Shaquille Drayton, 30, and 32-year-old Kevin Jagdeo got out of their dormitories at the prison by breaking through the roof.

Jagdeo was held shortly after the escape on Sunday night while Thomas was held in Champs Fleurs on Monday afternoon.

Douglas and Drayton were held in Tacarigua and Dinsley minutes apart on Monday night.

Up to press time Seepersad was the only escapee that remained on the run.

Speaking with reporters in the car park of the prison after his visit, Hinds said he visited the area to get a better understanding of how the escape happened and what was needed to prevent future escapes.

He said these changes would require additional infrastructure but could not give a figure on the cost for this upgrade.

"Even before today they (prison administration) had come up with some ideas for refurbishing the area and hardening them to make them less likely to be breached.

"I've had some ideas from the experts about the budget and they are putting together the final documentation so I don't want to misquote anyone.

"We have always treated national security issues as a high-priority issue and I'm sure I'll have little difficulty in persuading the Cabinet of the need for resources when it comes to issues of national security."

On Monday, president of the Prison Officers Association (POA) Ceron Richards claimed that a private security company was being used to shuttle inmates from their cells to other parts of the prison for virtual court hearings.

He said money used for this service could have been used to better reinforce security at the facilities.

Asked to comment on this issue, Hinds said his first point of contact in the affairs of the prison would be the prison administration through the Prisons Commissioner.

He also said the practice of private security companies to transport prisoners within the prison stopped last December, adding that it may remain gone as virtual hearings continue for the foreseeable future.

"I was briefed by the Chief Justice and the executive court administrator about two weeks ago there have been substantial changes in the way the justice system would roll out from here on and I don't think we'll be going back to that kind of scenario in the way that you would have seen it recently."

For his part, acting Prisons Commissioner Deopersad Ramoutar said, while any escape was cause for concern, security measures had to be readjusted regularly to keep pace with the resourcefulness of inmates.

"Human beings being crafty and skilful we have to keep modifying our security systems all the time.

"If you look at the ratio or percentage of the escapes over the year it's not bad as most who absconded or escaped were captured within 24 hours."

Ramoutar added that any prison officer found negligent or aiding the inmates in their escape would be dealt with.