President of the Prison Officers Association (POA) Ceron Richards has warned that there could be life threatening circumstances if an alarm is not installed at the Golden Grove Maximum Security Prison in Arouca in the soonest possible time.
Speaking at a press conference at the Prisons Sports Club, Arouca on Thursday, Richards revealed “Officers are complaining on a daily basis that their lives are compromised because they can’t raise an alarm, and that is unheard of in any part of the world.
“Imagine, the smallest parlour has alarms and cameras, but the Maximum Security Prison, which is supposed to be a high-security facility, doesn’t have one. That in itself is alarming.”
Richards said although he has repeatedly approached the Ministry of National Security, and was provided with assurances over the past year that a new alarm system would be installed, the prison is still not equipped with one.
He is calling on National Security Minister Stuart Young to say when the system would be implemented.
Richards pointed to an incident a few weeks ago, when several inmates were stabbed during a fight.
He said had the alarm been installed, prison officers could have responded faster.
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