1,000 prisoners trained annually to reduce recidivism rate

A total of 1,000 prisoners are exposed annually to skills training programmes in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to reduce the recidivism rate by focusing on rehabilitation and reintegration.

Inmates are benefitting from a plethora of training all geared towards behaviour modification, entrepreneurial skills and academics, so that they can seamlessly reintegrate into society.

During the opening of the 2026 Guyana Prison Service (GPS) Senior Officers’ Conference, Director of Prisons (ag) Nicklon Elliot said the prison population has started to enrol in the Guyana Digital School platform to further improve their personal skills.

He also added that the GPS continues to expand the reintegration process by providing prisoners with a toolkit upon their release, which would contribute to their employment, thus giving them a fresh start.

“Overall, these efforts contribute significantly to the decline in persons committing offences and returning to prison. Hence, Guyana has recorded the lowest recidivism rate of 14 per cent within the Caribbean region, and we are working to further reduce this number,” the director stated.

Beyond inmate upskilling, the director noted that officers are also undergoing training programmes to improve their personal skills and better support recidivism reduction efforts.

A total of six officers completed their master’s degrees in public administration, human resource management, health care management and social work.

Another 12 completed their bachelor’s degrees, 35 completed their diploma programmes, 17 earned technical certificates, and 362 participated in tertiary certificate programmes in the field of prison management.

Meanwhile, in advancing technology, the GPS collaborated with the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) to digitalise prisoners’ records and warrants, as well as staff personal files.

All staff personal files have already been digitalised, while 90 per cent of prisoners’ records and warrants have been digitalised, with the remainder to be completed shortly.