Greater emphasis is to be placed on the rehabilitation of prisoners this year, according to the Superintendent of Prisons Albert Wade, who also disclosed that more officers will be hired to implement and monitor the programmes.
In his year-end report, the prison boss said there is a great need for the programmes to reduce the recidivism (to re-offend repeatedly), which officials estimated in 2014 was about seven out of 10 prisoners.
“While there are no official statistics to show the current rate of recidivism, I can say it is high,” Wade stated.
He added, “The prison administration’s primary objectives for 2017 is the introduction of more rehabilitation programmes to prepare inmates for re-integration into society. This is critical in the prevention of inmates reoffending and returning to the prison.”
While he didn’t specify the particular initiatives in mind, he explained they will involve skills-training as well as regular classroom programmes.
In the not so recent past, Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) provided a number of skills-based programmes to include masonry, mechanics, plumbing and tailoring, among others.
Those initiatives were negatively affected by a fire in the 1990s, which ravaged several buildings on the Coronation Road compound.
More in today’s Daily Observer.