Local efforts to reduce recidivism working – (ag) Director of Prisons
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DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Acting Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels says the recently released final report of the study of inmates in Guyana’s shows the rate of recidivism in Guyana is lower than that of many developed countries. Samuels described the findings as evidence that that the local approach to rehabilitation of prisoners is working.
Items made by inmates at Mazaruni Prisons as part of the inmates rehabilitation programme.
“What I am happy about based on the findings submitted, is that while recidivism is something we have been working to reduce in Guyana, this study would have revealed that our recidivism rate is way below many developed countries in the world. This points to the fact that our rehabilitative programmes are serving the purpose in terms of preparing prisoners with life skills that will allow them to better reintegrate into society,” Samuels said.
Further, Samuels said, through the survey conducted, the authorities were better informed and policies have been derived to improve the delivery of service [to inmates]. He also assured that the report’s findings will be meaningfully utilised to develop existing programmes and craft new ones for inmates’ rehabilitation.
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, IDB Country Representative, Sophie Mackonnen and Director of Prisons (Ag.) Gladwin Samuels examine a copy of the inmates survey report.
“The Guyana Prison Service has as one of its main mandates, the rehabilitation of offenders, in order to prepare them for reentry into society. [It] is something that we have been paying attention to despite the fact [that] we recognise the need for us to improve in terms of the number of persons we capture. Efforts are continuously being made in order to do so”, the acting Director of Prisons added.
The inmates’ survey was conducted among a representative sample of prisoners across the country. It was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and implemented under the Citizen Security Strengthening Programme of the Ministry of Public Security. The surveys were conducted by the University of Guyana in collaboration with National University of Tres de Febrero of Argentina
By: Kidackie Amsterdam.