She was speaking at Queen's Hall at an awards ceremony and installation of a board of directors for the NGO "Vision on a Mission", which was formed a few years ago by a former prisoner, Wayne Chance, whose vision was to help rehabilitate those who found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
She praised Change and others who share his vision and commitment and said the People's Partnership government appreciates their efforts and will work with them.
"I wish to tell you that you have indeed won that battle of showing people and this nation what true courage is.
"And in so doing, you have ensured that you are the greater person, who stood up for others. May this country and our citizens be guided and inspired by you," she told Chance.
Persad Bissessar said the Ministry of Justice "is working assiduously to reform the judiciary to ensure that justice is delivered faster to persons awaiting trials so as to ensure that our prisons are not faced with the perennial problems of overcrowding."
She also spoke of innovative measures to deal with the trauma faced by families when a breadwinner goes to jail.
"His family is left in a most vulnerable state. Members of the family are exposed to a lot of the negative elements operating in society. Not only do they create an untold burden on their family, but this leads to a demand on state resources," she said.
Persad-Bissessar announced that the government is ensuring that NGOs like Vision on a Mission, which do the work of rehabilitation are given sufficient resources and support from to ensure that they continue to be "successful and impactful in implementing positive change in our country".
In that regard she unveiled plans to be introduced soon:
- A tax-credit incentive of 200 per cent tax credit to private employers who hire ex-prisoners
- Guarantee of employment for ex-prisoners in public sector development projects
- Review the legislation to allow commodities produced in prison to be sold in the open market.
She said the proceeds from such sales will go to the victims and the family of prisoners as a personal allowance. In addition, 20 per cent will be placed in a savings account for the prisoner.
Persad-Bissessar also announced that the Government is looking for the provision of half-way house facilities to provide short-term accommodation for prisoners.
"There is also going to be the establishment of a housing assistance fund to assist prisoners and remandees who are at risk of losing their accommodation," she said.
"There is also going to be the establishment of a housing assistance fund to assist prisoners and remandees who are at risk of losing their accommodation," she said.
She also said the Ministry of the People is at present, working on a formula to give a grant to former inmates to deal with rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.
"It is only about $5000.00 for ex-inmates but we have so many and that’s the point. The repeat revolving door syndrome... when they come out there’s no place to go, there’s no place to stay, no food to eat then who do you look for?
"I suspect it was no chance that Wayne Chance met a pastor but how many other ex-inmates coming out of the prison are so blessed or fortunate?
"So as the government will lend a hand, a helping hand in the form of a grant of $5,000. But we will put conditions on that grant so that it will not be that the criminals will say I just have to go in prison and spend some time and then get five thousand.
"No. We make sure to put the checks and balances and we will work with the people, with Vision on Mission and other NGO’s to get this done. But there must be a way forward where we can rehabilitate and reintegrate ex-inmate back into society," she said.
3 comments:
That Prisoner Reform Grant Plan plan assumes that a certain level of reform and rehabilitation of the prisoner would have taken place by the time he is scheduled for release. But it raises the issue of the current success of existing reform and rehabilitation programmes and the high rates of criminal recidivism in spite of those initiatives.
World wide, criminal recidivism is high, in excess of 70 percent, and in Trinidad and Tobago the percentage may be even higher. Rewarding criminal behaviour, which is what that reform grant would in effect be doing, is not going to result in the reduction of crime. In fact, it may actually finance further criminal enterprise by released prisoners who have neither the intention nor the capacity to alter their pre-disposition to criminality, but who would have 5000 reform dollars at their disposal.
Reform and rehabilitation should not be the responsibility of the penal system. People cannot be forced to behave themselves but they certainly can be prevented from misbehaving and that is where the responsibility and focus of the penal system should be placed. We all know that a high percentage of prisoners continue their criminal conduct within the prison confines, participating in prison gangs, conducting a thriving drug and contraband trade and even directing their criminal enterprises on the outside from the inside, issuing hits on rivals, state witnesses and other individuals. The responsibility of the penal system must be restricted to neutralizing the prisoner's ability to engage in such conduct and to severely punishing him if he does.
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