Something fishy

THE ORDER by the High Court on Sunday calling for a prisoner to be put into a secure area of the Maximum Security Prison in the wake of an apparent attempt on his life behind bars worsens the increasing unease over security at the country’s penal facilities.

In an emergency sitting, Justice Betsy Ann Lambert-Peterson ordered prison authorities to house Frankie Jamal Bartholomew, also known as Fishie, in an area covered by 24-hour surveillance by prison officers. Lawyers for the prisoner intend to pursue a substantive application for judicial review and it will be for the court to rule on constitutional issues raised in this case. However, the fact that an order of this nature was necessary in the circumstances is worrying.

Clearly, authorities must grapple with not only high-tech breaches of security such as the use of drones to smuggle in contraband items or worse, but also basic questions of security.

Of note is the fact that the individual in this case, who has pending matters in court, is one of six men who were last week acquitted of a 2009 murder based on the unreliability of the prosecution’s main witness. The length of time that case took to be resolved underlines how the penal system is already facing severe challenges when it comes to fulfilling its roles of serving justice and encouraging rehabilitation.

Violence within supposedly controlled institutions has long been a concern for both prisoners and prison officers alike, the latter of whom face threats to their life outside of prison walls.

Reports of “hits” being ordered by criminal elements behind bars, the seeming overcoming of measures meant to jam communications and concerns over compromised or corrupt officers add to the perception that things are dangerously amiss.

Judges have also had cause to remark on institutional failings relating to the handling of prisoners on death row or stemming from delays by the Mercy Committee. In the space of one month, Justice Margaret Mohammed and Justice Nadia Kangaloo, in different cases, handed down rulings which raise serious questions over the seeming lack of alacrity in the way some prisoners are being managed.

But it is not just judges expressing concern.

Prison system reform advocate and Newsday columnist Debbie Jacob also recently suggested serious obstacles stand in the way of improving the system, one of which is the revolving door of acting commissioners overseeing the prisons.

It is obvious that prisoners, many of whom are on remand and are awaiting trial, should be protected.

While prison violence is not a phenomenon unique to this country, the implications of reports of such violence cannot be ignored. It should not take a court order for authorities to act.