Acting Commissioner of Prison, Deopersad Ramoutar is calling for better treatment of officers and inmates.
Speaking during the Prison Service’s inter-faith service at Universal Church, Port-of-Spain on Tuesday, to mark the first working day of the year, Ramoutar said improved conditions are needed.
He said: “My officers, through our association, have been pounding the pavement for better compensation packages, for better working conditions, and to get the society to appreciate us for what we do.”
Ramoutar added, the Prison Service has worked to promote and encourage staff and inmates to maintain their emotions and their faith, as a lot goes into restorative justice and rehabilitation.
“Over the past ten months, we have had less tension among our inmates. We have less tension among our staff. We have less negative tension between inmates and staff, or at least it has been significantly reduced. The magic that has worked for us is being able to touch into the emotions of our staff members and the inmate population,” he said.
Ramoutar noted, “We have damaged seeds come into our fold to be repaired and to be healed . . . that perhaps parents should have done, the schools should have done, the various religious bodies should have done, that community policing should have done. The social services in the country should have taken up that slack but now that product ends up in prison.”
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