INSIGHT: Send hardcore criminals to Family Island prison

As of Monday, January 23, 2017

Paul Thompson

Former Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Thompson concludes his series on policing in the Bahamas by examing the rehabilitation of offenders.

Paul Thompson is the quintessential policeman. His career spanned the modern development of The Bahamas - from colonial times to the challenges of nationhood.

Born in a small farming village in Trinidad, he was recruited by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in 1951. He spent most of his time on the force in the Criminal Investigation Department, retiring in 1981 as an Assistant Commissioner.

He then began a second career as head of security for the Paradise Island Resort & Casino, returning to the police force as a civilian training officer in 1998, and in 2002 was appointed general manager of Wemco Security.

Five years later, he set up his own security company - Paul Thompson & Associates. Now in his 80s, he remains active in security work.

It is now called the Correctional Services Department, but the colloquial name - Fox Hell Prison - will probably always remain with us.

Imprisonment is a justified punishment for crime. And the prison environment must make it clear to detainees that their incarceration is truly a punishment. However, that does not mean they should be subjected to inhumane conditions.

International human rights organisations and their local counterparts have often been critical of conditions at Fox Hill Prison. Inmates and former inmates, lawyers and prison officers have talked about these terrible conditions incessantly.

They have existed for decades and there has been little sustained effort by any government to implement sufficient reforms - despite several attempts. These matters are usually out of sight, and out of mind.

The Bahamas ranks high in the world for the ratio of citizens incarcerated on a per capita basis. For most of us, payback is more important than rehabilitation, and throughout most of Fox Hill’s history recidivism was high, although it has recently been reduced.

The Correctional Services Act of 2013 replaced a 70-year-old piece of colonial legislation and made efforts to bring the prison up-to-date with current realities. It made sweeping administrative changes and provided for a review board with full access to the facility. It also sought to improve rehabilitative services.

Fox Hill prison was built in 1953 to house 700 inmates, but at times the population grew to over 2,000. And cells are often overcrowded, with inadequate sleeping and toilet facilities. We have been told about sexual assaults on younger inmates and the beatings they receive if they refuse. Our street gangs also operate inside the prison, where there is the constant fear of being attacked by rival gang members. We used to hear of cell phones used by incarcerated drug lords to run their networks on the outside, although measures have since been taken to stop this. We are aware of the corrupt practices of a limited number of correctional officers, who have been caught supplying illegal drugs.

The prison has long been a “hell hole” and a disaster waiting to happen. But groups such as the Bahamas Bar Association and the Bahamas Christian Council have often remained silent on this issue.

The latter group waged a successful battle against two referenda recently, but cannot find the strength to speak out on this, and other important social issues, including the failure of Members of Parliament to declare their assets as required by law.

We like to hold ourselves up as a Christian nation yet we continue to ignore the decidedly unchristian and inhumane conditions at Fox Hill Prison.

As early as the mid-1970s, then Commissioner of Police Salathiel Thompson made recommendations to the Prime Minister for improvement of the Prison Service. Mr Thompson was acting on knowledge gained from police officers who, while on training in the UK, had the opportunity to visit what were then called Borstal institutions for young offenders. I was one of those officers.

Borstal institutions focus on training and rehabilitation so that inmates can fit into society more easily after they are released.

Commissioner Thompson was impressed with the information received from officers like Albert Miller, Errington Watkins, Courtney Strachan and myself. He agreed that the programme could play an important role in prison reform in the Bahamas.

One of his key concerns was the fact that all of our prisoners were being held on New Providence, the national capital. A mass escape of violent criminals from Fox Hill could seriously impact national security and damage our vital tourist industry.

So he recommended moving the Maximum Security Prison to a Family Island, where prisoners convicted of serious crimes could be isolated from the main population centre. At the time, the Canadian government had expressed some interest in assisting this project. The existing prison at Fox Hill would then be converted into a Borstal-type institution where inmates would be taught trades such as carpentry, masonry, mechanics, auto bodywork, plumbing, welding, etc. And jobs would be provided for the discharged inmates.

In the early 1980s, Prime Minister Pindling met with former senior police officers (including myself) to discuss the rise in crime. I presented the Borstal proposal at that meeting, but it was never acted upon. I believe this proposal is still relevant today - perhaps even more so, as we are in a better position with the existence of the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute, which could provide classes for inmates.

Rehabilitation of prisoners is critical for an orderly society, but it is not possible in an overcrowded, violent and inhumane environment. Perhaps now is the time to move the hard core offenders to an island like Inagua, where there is already a Defence Force base to provide support to the prison staff. This would also help to create jobs on the island.

Comments and responses to insight@tribunemedia.net