Roadtown, Tortola - Good day to all the people of these beautiful Virgin Islands.  I am Andrew Fahie, Minister of Education and Culture who has shared responsibility with His Excellency, the Governor for Prisons. 

Currently, concerns have been raised in different forums about events at Her Majesty’s Prison.  I want to officially inform the people of the Virgin Islands that all operations at Her Majesty’s Prison are currently under review with the aim of strengthening the institution.  In order to facilitate this process, the Ministry has engaged the services of a Change Manager who is currently developing action plans for the improvement of management and operations, security, health and safety, among others.  In so doing, I want to assure all the people of the Virgin Islands that the process being undertaken has and continues to be done in a manner that respects the rights of the prisoners as well as conforms to the basic human rights of individuals.
 
Recently, while conducting search operations at Her Majesty’s Prison, which were spearheaded by the Acting Superintendent and his team, a number of infractions were uncovered.  In this vein, the Acting Superintendent of Prisons and his team have done the best that they can do in navigating Her Majesty’s Prison through the ongoing review and restructuring of the day to day operations.  To date, it is public knowledge that through the aforementioned search operations, one of the infractions uncovered was prisoners at Her Majesty’s Prison having drugs, namely marijuana, in their possession.  This raises the question, how is marijuana getting into the prison? My people of the Virgin Islands, when a prisoner has the opportunity to have in their possession more marijuana and other drugs in the prison than what they had been convicted and sentenced for, raises many red flags.  Failure to address this issue in a professional manner would render all prison officials, including the Minister, among others, irresponsible.
 
My people of the Virgin Islands, prisoners having cellular phones in prison is illegal; however, recent search operations by Prison officials revealed that a large number of prisoners have cellular phones in their possession.  Of course this raises even more red flags and begs the question, how does such a large number of cellular phones get into the prison on a continual basis? 

My people of the Virgin Islands, this is cause for concern, and any prison official, including the Minister, among others, who ignore addressing these matters can only be deemed irresponsible.

My people of the Virgin Islands, the removal of prisoners from the prison without adhering to established procedures and policies governing how prisoners should be allowed to leave the prison, and how a prisoner can qualify for such a privilege, is a recipe for abuse and a recipe for disaster.  These procedures and policies are also under review.  Upon reviewing this process, it was discovered that the log book at Her Majesty’s Prison that is supposed to accurately reflect the movements of prisoners off the compound failed to highlight, in a consistent manner, such important information.  Failure to address this event by all prison officials, including the Minister, among others, would be irresponsible to say the least. 

My people of the Virgin Islands, during the current search operation at Her Majesty’s Prison, it was discovered that certain prison cells were equipped with computers and access to wireless internet connection.  This again raises even more red flags as to who knew what and who knew what when.  Failure to address these issues would be irresponsible in nature.

My people of the Virgin Islands it is this Government’s intention to ensure that the correct environment is created at Her Majesty’s Prison to allow all prisoners to be rehabilitated in a manner that will allow them to take their rightful place in society upon release.  In this light, we have currently invested in new classrooms at Her Majesty’s Prison and on March 19, 2009, the classes for juveniles, spearheaded by the Department of Education have started.  This course of action is a crucial element in the ongoing Prison Reform.
 
On February 26, 2009, the House of Assembly passed the Parole Board Act 2009 which will afford prisoners the opportunity to qualify for parole providing that they satisfy the requirements, thereby giving prisoners the opportunity to shorten their sentence on the prison compound and be released with conditions, to serve the remainder of their sentence outside the prison compound but in a controlled and heavily monitored programme.
 
As stated, the policy to guide the administering of prisoners work release is being reviewed in order to develop and implement a clearly defined policy and procedure.  The majority of the staff at Her Majesty’s Prison continues to serve the institution in a distinguished manner.  As a body, they have expressed their lingering concerns in many areas that have gone unnoticed and unaddressed over the past years.  I assure them, that their concerns have not fallen on deaf ears and most of their concerns are being addressed in a phased manner over a period of time.  These concerns and conditions at Her Majesty’s Prison have not originated since my tenure as Minister but my philosophy on tackling difficult issues remains clear:  DOING NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION!
 
My people of the Virgin Islands, for the first time, just a few months ago, a full inspection of the Prison was requested by the Ministry of Education and Culture with responsibility for prisons by different Government agencies such as the Department of Health, Fire and Rescue Services, just to name a few.  This Government takes the safety and well being of all prisoners and prison officials at Her Majesty’s Prison very seriously.  As a result, all the concerns raised in the reports are currently being addressed. 

 
In addition, since my tenure as Minister, the Prison Visiting Committee has been re-constituted with a balance of new and old members coupled with a new chairman, Mr. Myron Walwyn who has done a superb job thus far in addressing many of the challenges at Her Majesty’s Prison.
 
My people of the Virgin Islands, there are challenges at Her Majesty’s Prison.  However, these challenges are no different to challenges anywhere else.  It is important to highlight that resistance to change is normal but Her Majesty’s Prison requires the establishment of clearly defined rules, policies and procedures to govern the operations of the institution.  I crave the indulgence of family members, well wishers, and the general public during this process because any institution that operates without clearly defined procedures and policies is dangerous and lends itself to a breakdown of law and order.  Needless to say, I thank you, the people of the Virgin Islands, for your unwavering support and attention and I ask all the people of the Virgin Islands to continue to let us work in harmony so that we can save the current and next generation from increasing the numbers at Her Majesty’s Prison.  Coupled with this, we must help our fallen brothers and sisters at Her Majesty’s Prison to be rehabilitated so that upon release they can take their rightful place in society thereby being afforded an opportunity to contribute positively to the process of moving our Territory from “Good to Great”.  No one is perfect and everyone deserves a second chance; however, with uttermost respect to all rights of prisoners, a prison must operate like a prison.
 
As Minister of Education and Culture with responsibility for prisons, this is my sole intention.  In so doing, I intend to be steadfast in our purpose and diligent in my actions.  During the different phases of Prison Reform, I will continue to keep the people of the Virgin Islands informed. 

Throughout this address, some of the daunting challenges currently plaguing Her Majesty’s Prison have been highlighted.  As Virgin Islanders, we have been known to meet challenges directly and transform them into opportunities.  While ensuring that this holds true during Prison Reform at Her Majesty’s Prison, it is equally important to do the right things as it is to do things right.  In our attempt to move in this direction, as Minister, I give the public my full assurance that I will do everything in my power to ensure that neither the prisoners’ nor the prison officials’ rights as outlined by law are infringed.  Our actions must be fair, firm and friendly thereby allowing the integrity of this institution to be restored. This course of action is in the best interest of this Territory.  During this transition period we must unite in actions that would lend support to the institution establishing clear guidelines/rules, policies and procedures to govern the daily and future operations of all activities at Her Majesty’s Prison rather than vice versa.  This course of action will take our every resolve but we must move in the best interest of the Territory.

Together we should do it.  Together we can do it, but most importantly, together we must do it.  Thank you and God bless.