Guyana Government Seeking To Set Up New Unit To Deal With Prison Unrests

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar. 30, (CMC) – The Guyana government is seeking to establish a special response team to deal with prison unrests in the future, following this month’s incident that left at least 17 inmates dead and several others injured, Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, has said.

He said, that the new unit would have the capacity to handle all cases of misconduct that may arise in prisons across the country, and would be prepared to enforce discipline among inmates without a dependency on the police.

Ramjattan said, that a new training structure for the Guyana Prison Service is being finalized, resulting in all recruits being trained at the Guyana Police Forces’ training schools.

“Our prisons are tough places to work and sometimes the more quality people do not want to go there,” Ramjattan told the Guyana Information News Agency (GINA) recently.

“If we don’t start investing in better recruits, their accommodation, their allowances, their salaries and all of that, we might have lots more riots on our hands, which will cost (us) in the long term, lots more,” he added.

Currently, a Commission of Inquiry is probing the circumstances that led to the unrest at the main prison in the capital.

The three-member Commission, chaired by former Judge, James Patterson, and includes former Director of Prisons, Dale Erskine, and human rights activist, Merle Mendonca, is expected to submit its report by early next month.