Governor John Rankin speaks during a recent press conference, where he pushed for an electronic tagging system that would allow inmates to serve time on house arrest.

Electronic tagging of remanded inmates who are not “potentially dangerous” could ease crowding at His Majesty’s Prison, Governor John Rankin said recently.

However, he added, sufficient funds will need to be allocated to the cause. Some inmates on remand in Balsam Ghut have been awaiting trial for as long as five years, Prison Superintendent Guy Hill told the Standing Finance Committee during its closed-door deliberations last December.

Speaking at a press conference on Feb. 14, Mr. Rankin — who shares responsibility for prisons with the Ministry of Health and Social Development — expressed hope that the government can make progress in implementing an electronic-tagging system.

Such a system, he said, would “allow some of those who are on remand, if they are not potentially dangerous prisoners, to actually be at home with their electronic tags rather than spend time in prison, which may not actually be helpful for their own development.”

However, he added that the electronic tagging process is “costly,” and noted that the related budgetary allocation does not fall within his office’s ambit. Electronic tagging, according to the United Kingdom government’s website, is used in England and Wales to monitor curfews and conditions of a court or prison order. If someone is given a tag, it is usually attached to their ankle.

Prison reform

As another way to lower the number of remanded inmates, the governor said he also wishes to see reform at the level of the courts. As an example, he said that court procedure rules should be “as efficient as possible.” Police, prosecutors and defence lawyers, he added, should all “assist in that progress.”

Mr. Rankin also expressed hope that the prison’s short staffing problems will be addressed soon. “I hope they can be resolved through, first of all, increased recruitment into vacancies,” he said.

However, he added that prison officers, like other civil servants, are awaiting compensation reviews — a delay he said may be hampering the recruitment process. “We are trying to get the human resource processes in the territory to confirm the appointment and promotions of several prison officers and to get them into more responsible positions within the prison,” Mr. Rankin added.

Understaffing

HMP Deputy Superintendent John Wilcox told the SFC last December that the prison is understaffed in part because “there are a number of prison staff that are suspended,” according to a report on the SFC’s closed-door proceedings.

He added that the prison needed nine additional staff, including a firearms officer. Mr. Hill also told the SFC that in the past he had made a request for a teacher and a counsellor for the prison, but the posts remained vacant.

Last year, he added, the prison population ranged between 113 and 115 prisoners. Twenty-eight inmates, he said, were freed on early release on recommendation to the governor. While their release helped eased the prison’s financial burden, more inmates were added to the population, Mr. Hill told the SFC.