In its partnership with Canada, T&T is aiming to improve its restorative justice system to strengthen security systems and examining ways of upgrading the country’s prisons. Making the statement yesterday was Justice Minister Christlyn Moore who was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Canadian Correctional Service and the T&T Prisons Service at her ministry at the Waterfront Complex, Port-of-Spain. The use of dogs capable of sniffing out illegal cellphones in the prisons was also discussed. Also present were Prisons Commissioner Martin Martinez and Don Head, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada.
Head and other prisons officials were expected to visit the Tobago prison yesterday afternoon. Moore said the MOU was signed last year but yesterday’s briefing represented another phase. “Our goals are varied and not all touch on the concern of restorative justice but with regard to restorative justice we were interested in the Canadian model and how that was being implemented in Canada,” Moore said. Data collection was another critical element as that was needed to shape future policies, she said. “A question that is often asked is what is the cost of keeping a prisoner but we don’t collect data in a way that allows to very easily answer that question. “We collect data in silos. We collect data that doesn’t adequately inform policy makers and the public,” Moore added.
Saying a proper system of data collection was needed more than ever, especially in the face of public accountability, Moore said access to data and the availability of data were critical. “One of our critical matters is to develop a proper data collection, a proper performance measure that will allow us to account to the public what is going on in the prisons, how the resources are spent and allocated,” Moore added. She said the ledgers used in the prisons to enter information on prisoners and visitors were outdated. On the problem of inmates having access to cellphones Moore said ,via talks with Canada, the Government was exploring other methods which could also be implemented. “Some of the solutions in the prisons can be brought about by architectural changes. Some are minor and some are major. I don’t know if you can expect a new prison next year,” Moore added.
Martinez, who described talks with Canada as fruitful, said the challenges experienced by T&T were similar to those faced by Canada. “We discussed the need for training, the issue of a proper offender-management system, we spoke of the cellphone challenge.” He said Canadian authorities used dogs which could identify cellphones in the prisons, and that was also discussed. Despite T&T’s small size, Head said, there was much Canada could learn from T&T. He said it was important to note that countries must work in partnership to overcome challenges.
Flashback
During a UNC Monday Night Forum in Gasparillo on May 6, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said prisoners were using cellphones to order murders and other criminal acts. This had been confirmed by the National Security Council after a probe into the claim, which was first made by former national security minister Martin Joseph almost five years ago. She said there were plans to implement mobile-phone signal jammers which could trace the phones and block calls and text messages from inside prisons. The measure was welcomed by Martinez but has not yet taken place.