PUBLISHED 5th NOVEMBER 2020
BUCKIE GOT IT
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS AND NEVIS NEWS SOURCE
Commissioner of Corrections at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) in St. Kitts, Terrance James, says the mission of correctional officers at the prison is to rehabilitate inmates and create an opportunity for them to make for a smooth reintegration into the larger society.
He highlighted this during an exclusive interview with St. Kitts Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) on November 3 at HMP.
“We know over the years people have had the perception that the prison is just where people have been sent to jail by the court and they just serve their time and they are reintegrated back into society,” said Mr. James.
“As the new commissioner of Her Majesty’s Prison, I have embarked on a journey to try to rehabilitate the inmates here at Her Majesty’s Prison and to showcase some of the positive things that the inmates have been doing over the years,” he said.
“Some people are not aware that we have inmates here at Her Majesty’s Prison who are very skilled in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work and so over the years this has not been showcased to the public and so people have been given the wrong perception about Her Majesty’s Prison,” he added.
Mr. James stated that “The General Public is aware that some inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison would have sat the CAPE and CSEC examinations and they have been very successful, and so we do have a very good academic programme at Her Majesty’s Prison.”
“Everyone is also aware of the prison band and when people are aware that the prison band will be playing at various functions, people look forward to the prison band and they are very much impressed with the kind of music that the members of Her Majesty’s Prison Band would produce,” he said. “This is also another type of rehabilitative project where when the inmates leave the institution, they can integrate into bands that are formed here in the Federation.”
“The purpose of these rehabilitation projects is to show that when inmates would have left the institution, they have a skill so that they can seek employment or become entrepreneurs in starting their own businesses,” said Mr. James.
