AG to prisons officers: Help stamp out corruption in service

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, yesterday, said the critical issue, which should be at the fore of the discussion of safety for prison officers, should be the identification and expulsion of corrupt prison officers currently in the service.

Al-Rawi made the statement during a press conference held at the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs building in Port of Spain.

“While there are many excellent prison officers whom we salute, addressing the issue of criminality inside the jails is the critical issue,” he said.

“We have recognised in this country that it is a fact there is corruption in the prisons. Guns, video cards, contraband, grenades, did not arrive there by themselves.”

It was also reported previously, that in a 99-day surveillance of particular prisons, more than 1.2 million calls were jammed by the cell phone jammers and more than 126,000 text messages were intercepted.

Al-Rawi said the Ministry of National Security had already recognised that Prison Service personnel were essential and should be cared for and looked after. He added that of the three investigations into the murders of officers, two were close to completion and the third was gaining momentum. Al-Rawi said the majority of the complaints made by the Prison Officers Association (POA) were being addressed.

Al-Rawi said the Ministry of National Security was currently retro-fitting remand yard and was in the process of installing basic amenities, like toilets. The Ministry also made electrical upgrades to prisons to accommodate the CCTV cameras already installed. Scanners are also being implemented. Prison officers have also been receiving firearms for their protection since 2015 and are also in receipt of housing. He said, “I have asked the head of POA for improvements but I have not gotten any, only nebulous statements like: ‘Make laws to protect prisons officers.’ “Last time I checked, murder was a capital offence punishable by hanging. So one could say there is a host of laws already on the books.

What is required is a collaborative effort to stamp out corruption in the prison service and stop criminal empires from thriving from within the prison.”