New recruits to the Barbados Prison Service have been given a clear warning by Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams: follow the rules with integrity or prepare to face the full force of the law.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony for Recruit Intake 1/25 on Friday, Abrahams delivered a firm warning about the standards expected of prison officers. They must remain professional when interacting with prisoners, he stressed, and any actions that go against the law will be dealt with accordingly.
“Let me be real clear, you do not owe any inmate any loyalty or any special favours. The inmates are not your friends. Remember to establish and maintain high standards in dealing with the inmates. Give them what the law requires, nothing more, nothing less. Whatever you do, never ever blur the line between what is right and what is wrong,” he told the 12 officers.
“If you blur it and if you mash that crease, you will be dealt with according to the law as severely as we can. We are not playing with prison officers. You are officers of the law . . . you have to uphold the law.”
He also expressed concern about a culture of laxity within the ranks, particularly when it comes to absenteeism.
“This prison has an unenviable record for the high amounts of sick leave and sick days taken by officers. It seems to be fashionable for officers to come to work as late as possible and expect the same remuneration at the end of the month,” he said. “I know that you have all heard ‘a fair day’s for a fair day’s work’. You must be exemplars. You are starting now from scratch with no bad habits. Make sure you do not cultivate any.”
He said employees of the prison must remember the oath they take at the beginning of their service, which calls on them not to reveal sensitive information to the general public.
Abrahams referenced the recent rumour that prisoners had access to alcohol during a gathering at one of the on-site programmes.
He said, “We recently had to respond to an allegation that alcohol was freely available in a prison,and that they had a big party in the agricultural programme and they had Johnny Walker Black, Hennessy, all sorts of things.
“What it was, was that some prisoners in a prison programme used the hand sanitiser in the chemical toilet, which is pretty much ethanol, and they mixed that with the drink that they had and they drank that. Now that is pure overproof alcohol. So obviously they got very drunk. My issue is not even that it happened, my issue was that it happened and that story went wrong, obviously coming from somebody connected to the prison. What happens in the prison stays in the prison. I’m not saying cover up any illegality, I’m saying do not spread foolish rumours that threaten the integrity of the prison or bring the entire system into disrepute.”
Abrahams also encouraged the new officers to take pride in their careers.
“Take pride in the career that you’ve chosen. Do your fellow officers and the organisation and your country proud. I urge you to remain true to the cause of the service, bear in mind that the world in which we live, everybody has a phone with a camera. They’ll be watching you. So on the streets, on your way to and from work, when you perform duty, wherever you are, be an example of a professional, ethical, well-motivated prison officer,” he said.
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