The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE country’s prison population “is now at the highest” it has ever been, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said yesterday, though he could not confirm claims of a drop in recidivism rate, noting the figure depends on how it is calculated.

His comments to The Tribune came hours after assistant prison chaplain Angelo Rolle announced a drop in the prison’s recidivism rate, attributing the decline to ongoing rehabilitation initiatives under Prison Commissioner Doan Cleare.

Mr Rolle made the remarks yesterday during a press conference to announce the upcoming bi-annual Pastors, Volunteers and Caregivers Conference, slated for March 12 - 14th.

When asked to confirm the claim yesterday, Mr Munroe explained that it depends on how one defines recidivism, noting numbers can shift based on how the rate is measured.

The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services currently houses more than 1,900 inmates, according to Mr Munroe.

“Let us say you have four repeat offenders admitted to the prison,” he said. “If you only have eight people admitted with them that’s 50 per cent recidivism rate. If you have 100 people admitted with them, then the exact same amount of people renders a lower recidivism rate.”

Mr Munroe said the more meaningful figure is the percentage of people who have ever been to prison and then return.

However, he noted that this is not the rate currently tracked.

“That would be a more important rate to say you had 1,000 people in prison and 100 of them came back or you had a 1,000 people in the prison and 10 of them came back.”

“Then of course, I think some of the rates track the people who are sentenced, as opposed to people who are just admitted. So all of that, you'd have to understand what statistics they're referring to.”

Yesterday, Mr Rolle praised the work of the prison and chaplaincy to rehabilitate offenders. He said the upcoming conference, in partnership with the Global Chaplaincy Alliance, will bring chaplains together and introduce accreditation for participants.

Those certified will be able to serve as prison volunteers or chaplains not only in The Bahamas but also in other countries, including the United States and Jamaica, where the Alliance has chapters.

“This is going to be a history breaking opportunity for our institution and for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas,” he said.