Guyana faces a major problem with its penal system, and with criminal behaviour now as rampant behind bars as it is outside its prisons, there is additional need for vigilance when visiting the homeland.
How much more anxious could nationals living in the homeland become, and similarly for us in the diaspora, over the compounded fear now being felt for our lives and property, when the main penitentiary was so easily leveled by arsonists inside the walls of the Camp Street prison, the main plotters of this murderous revolt then making such a clean escape, that close to two weeks later they remain on the run with no indications of being apprehended by the authorities?
There is a disquieting and frightening precedent. We cannot forget what occurred out of this same Camp Street prison on February 23, 2002, when five prisoners broke out of jail. This breakout triggered the worst criminal violence since Guyana became an independent nation, with dozens of householders, policemen, and business owners targeted, attacked, with many persons murdered by these criminals. It is believed at least two of the 2008 mass murders were orchestrated by persons and groups linked to these five escapees.
It is not that we can say this frightening and murderous ordeal occurred 15 years ago, triggered by the breakout from the Camp Street prison – not with the March 3, 2016 incident still fresh in minds, when 17 prisoners died at the same complex following yet another conflagration, the fire again set by prisoners during an episode of unrest at the penal facility. It appears the problems at this prison are not going away; instead, it seems to burn underground, only to flare up time and time again.
Each new conflagration is not a good indication the Guyana government is dealing effectively with problems inside its penal system. It does not appear the fires fuelling criminality inside the system, and which are burning underground, are being properly put out by the authorities.
Instead, for nationals back home, and we in the diaspora who travel to the homeland all the time, what is becoming more and more apparent is we continue to remain open to danger from dangerous criminals both outside and inside the justice system, from beyond the walls, as well as from within the prisons; from criminals operating outside the jails, and similarly from criminals, who after they are incarcerated, are finding ways to escape from prison.
If the administration was caught off-guard in 2002, there should be no reason for such a recurrence in 2017. Guyana’s present government should have learned an important lesson from this history, and should have been in a better position last week to protect nationals from having to relive such a frightening and disquieting ordeal of insecurity from criminals behind bars.
Surely, the government had the benefit of hindsight following inquiries into what took place at the Camp Street prison in 2002 and the findings in the Kennard report, which inquired into that escape; also, there were the recommendations from the Disciplined Forces Commission, which were made in 2004. Also available were the recommendations by Justice James Patterson on what occurred during last year’s arson when 17 prisoners suffered such horrific deaths.
Guyana’s President David Granger has made security one of the main pillars of his government administration. He was a commissioner on the Disciplined Forces Commission which produced a comprehensive list of recommendations on all of the various forces, including the Guyana Prison Service in May, 2004. His leadership, along with such wide-ranging experience, must now be leveraged in making it a top government priority for definitive action in securing its penal system both from outside and within. It goes without saying the other priority is immediately recapturing the escapees now on the run.
Importantly, it also goes without saying the diaspora needs to be extra-vigilant when visiting the homeland.