Prisoners must be helped

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,
It is quite catastrophic that the number of male juvenile offenders presently imprisoned for serious crimes has increased significantly, when compared with the last three years. At this rate, Guyana will be deluged with young criminals if nothing is done to reverse this trend. The actual count is that the prison population is made up of 71.3 per cent of young offenders, who are either serving sentences or are on remand for allegedly committing, some very grave offences.
My first reaction to this is where did things go wrong? Maybe the home? If so, then the focus must be on addressing domestic issues. Too many times, children are left without parental guidance.
Sometimes this is because of spousal separation and step-siblings getting caught in the fray. The evidence is quite abundant that children from broken homes are most likely to stray from societal norms.
A study was done in the U. S. recently to investigate the medical and psychiatric characteristics and needs of young detainees. The subjects came mostly from homes with family disruptions, were exposed to psychoactive substance abuse, and manifested poor educational progress.
The plan for the Guyana Prison Service and the Education Ministry to engage imprisoned youths in basic literacy programmes is a very good one, but it will be quite challenging.
A preventative mode must also be engaged in, that is, youths must be forced to be in school. The objective, as I see it, is to equip these youths with the requisite know-how to earn a living and build a career.
What was quite heartening is that the Guyana Prison Service has embarked on a rehabilitation of the prisons in Guyana. Currently, construction works are being carried out on the barracks at the Camp Street Prison, while a new capital-offence holding facility is being constructed.
Prisoners are still people and I believe in offering them a chance to be redeemed. Young people still have time on their side and they should be helped. I call on the entire community to look for ways they can contribute to this process.

Yours truly,
Samuel Morris

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