Minister is hopeful on prison accreditation

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe.

As of Tuesday, February 20, 2024

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe is hopeful that improvements to the prison’s infrastructure will help the institution get accredited, even as he awaits Cabinet’s approval of necessary construction plans for the facilities.

“The accreditation of the existing residential facilities is an ongoing process,” he said yesterday. “So we’re gonna be moving for the accreditation of the female prison, the juvenile facility, and hopefully the remand centre. We are hopeful that with the improvements that we’ve been able to make, that we stand a good chance of getting them certified as correctional facilities for the first time.”

Acting Corrections Commissioner Doan Cleare admitted that the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) failed an accreditation inspection last year.

He has said he wants the BDCS to be a certified correctional facility by mid-2024, pending completion of more than 200 upgrades and recommendations from the American Correctional Association.

“I’m from private practice,” Mr Munroe said yesterday. “If I were in private practice, the construction would be well underway. I’m now in the public service, so there are public service restrictions and the most that I can say is we diligently soldier on and do what is necessary to meet what the public service constructs require.”