Harsher Penalties For Taking Contraband Into Prison

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Matthew Samuda, says legislation that governs contraband within the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), is to be amended.

Speaking with journalists during a recent tour of the Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA) Regional Office in Montego Bay, St. James, Mr. Samuda argued that the current legislative framework of the DCS is “antiquated and needs to be rewritten”,  in order to sufficiently penalise those who continue to conduct criminal acts and run criminal enterprises from behind bars.

“Pending the approval of Parliament, we expect that to happen within a matter of two to three months, because we are nearing the completion in terms of our Cabinet submission for approval to carry to Parliament,” Mr. Samuda outlined.

“So, something that was a $5,000 fine is going to move to $500,000 and five years in prison for those who bring contraband into our facilities. We need to make it that much difficult for them and we are going to do everything within our power to ensure the legislative framework is modernised,” he added.

Mr. Samuda further noted that the Government is currently undergoing a procurement process to integrate a whole raft of technological solutions in the DCS to modernise the facilities.

The Minister also pointed out that changes are being made to staff training as well as staff accountability.

In the meantime, Mr. Samuda said improved security arrangements in the DCS have been leading to an increase in the seizure of contraband.

He indicated that there is a reshuffling of guards and the formation of special teams for cell checks, among other measures.

“Even statistically, we have seen the number of cellular phones go above 2,000 seizures in one single year across our facilities. That is not something that we are happy about, because 2,000 cellular phones got in, but the fact that we were able to remove them shows that the Correctional Services is cleaning up its own issues,” Mr. Samuda said.

“My own experience with the DCS is that the vast majority of our officers are patriots who want to keep all of us safe. You have bad apples, but we are going through the process to ensure that these bad apples are, indeed, caught and removed,” he added.