BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CRIME, especially homicide and gun-related incidents, is of grave concern to citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, and a senior member of the legal fraternity has opined that conditions at Her Majesty’s Prison for many years have been a contributing factor to crime.
Speaking last evening (Feb. 2) on Operation Future’s weekly radio programme ‘The Operation Room’, J. Emile Ferdinand noted that the twin-island Federation has been having a state of murders for several years at a level that is simply astonishing for its population.
The Queen’s Counsel revisited the past and briefly analogised who would have been affected by the many senseless killings.
“When you think about it, to have upward of 20 murders in St. Kitts and Nevis annually for the past five or more years and you extrapolate that into the amount of families that those incidents would affect, a large percentage of the population would be impacted. Whether it is the victims of those crimes or the persons who are caught and incarcerated as a result, a large percentage of our community is adversely impacted by the regular crime at this time.”
He made reference to a presentation at a Juvenile Justice Convention many years ago in which he spoke to conditions in the prison.
“In that talk, I made the point that I felt the prison conditions in St. Kitts and Nevis were less than desirable. Not because we want to make prisoners comfortable and happy, but the reality is that even though we say the police are not catching enough criminals, the prisons are full and overflowing.
“And the environment there, particularly for young offenders, again for many years there are a lack of proper facilities for separating first time juvenile offenders from hard core prisoners. I do believe that we are paying the price for that at this time. In fact, because the prison system has become, as it were, a university of crime. And one of the reasons we see so many repeat offenders is partly because of the unfortunate position in the prison system.”
Ferdinand pointed out that even though the facility known as the Harris’ Home was improved in recent times and the various prison farms on Nevis, the situation regarding the prison conditions still has a contributory effect on crime.
Ferdinand stated that “some serious focus on the penal is important” at this time and, in the case of the escalating crime situation, there is no shortage of studies on the subject.
He proffered the view that there is need for those studies to be in the public domain for discussion.
He advised that this could be done by putting the report of studies on websites, which would attract many people, particularly the nation’s youth, and that it is an easy way to disseminate information and get public feedback.
Ferdinand however brought into spotlight the inherited culture that causes most governments to desist from employing the above advice, not only on crime but also other important issues that affect the people they govern.
“We treat too many reports that are submitted to government as confidential and closed until they become dated and of no use to invite public discussion. That is part of the culture that we inherited from the British.
He explicated that “we need to move beyond that and use the technology to get the information out to engender discussion”.
There are two penitentiaries in the Federation – Her Majesty’s Prison in St. Kitts and the Prison Farm in Nevis.
Her Majesty’s Prison is located on Cayon Street, Basseterre and was built by the British to accommodate 60 inmates, while the Prison Farm, which official name is Russell’s Rest, is located in the hills of Maddens. It is used as a place of incarceration for inmates who would soon be released from prison and also inmates who do not pose security risks.
