JFJ seeks clarity on proposed multibillion dollar maximum-security prison

Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has welcomed the Government’s renewed commitment to replacing Jamaica’s ageing correctional infrastructure, but is calling for greater clarity on the classification of inmates the proposed facility will house and whether a public-private partnership will be used to finance or operate it.

The Government is planning to build a new maximum-security correctional facility, with a site identified and a committee established to advance the project. State Minister for National Security and Peace Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn said preliminary work is under way, although she later clarified to The Gleaner that the project remains at the planning stage and financing arrangements have not been finalised.

The proposed investment is estimated at between $8 billion and $10 billion and is intended to provide a purpose-built infrastructure to support rehabilitation, enhanced security, improved operational efficiency and better working conditions for correctional officers.

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JFJ Executive Director Mickel Jackson said the organisation has long advocated for new correctional facilities, alongside sentencing reform, expanded non-custodial options and improvements to existing institutions.

“Though we welcome the announcement, JFJ poses two key questions,” the organisation said in a release on Tuesday, pointing to the need to establish who the proposed facility is intended to accommodate and what form any public-private partnership would take.

JFJ said existing facilities suffer from overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, poor ventilation and structural risks, conditions which it said undermine rehabilitation and endanger inmates and staff.

However, the organisation is questioning the Government’s decision to describe the proposed facility as maximum-security, noting that Tower Street and St Catherine Adult Correctional Centres are already classified as maximum-security institutions.

JFJ said that classification does not necessarily indicate how many inmates are assessed as posing a high security risk or how many are housed in such institutions because of limited medium-security capacity.

The organisation is therefore asking the Government to provide a public breakdown of the prison population by risk classification and explain whether the new facility is intended for the smaller group of inmates considered highly dangerous or for the broader population currently housed in maximum-security institutions.

The issue has also been raised by Stand Up for Jamaica, which has argued that serious offenders should be separated from people convicted of less serious crimes.

Stand Up for Jamaica’s Executive Director Carla Gullotta said the proposed facility should be guided by “a clear vision” and differentiated interventions based on the nature of offences and sentences. She argued that combining different categories of offenders could expose less serious offenders to “the attitudes and ways of serious criminals”, potentially turning prisons into “a school of crime”.

JFJ is also seeking details on any public-private partnership.

Cuthbert-Flynn has said financing arrangements have not been finalised, including whether the Government will pursue such a partnership. JFJ is asking the Government to disclose the model being considered, who would own and operate the facility, and what safeguards would be put in place to protect inmates’ rights and ensure independent oversight.

The concerns come as the Government pursues a broader correctional modernisation programme, including a $2.5-billion investment over four years in an e-corrections strategy, the rollout of high-definition CCTV systems and the establishment of the Caribbean Correctional Academy.

Cuthbert-Flynn has also stressed that modernisation must extend beyond buildings and technology, describing correctional officers as “security professionals, first responders, mentors and agents of behavioural change”.

JFJ said it supports the construction of new facilities but wants the Government to use the opportunity to advance wider prison reform.

“We trust real progress will be made in this parliamentary cycle,” Jackson said, while urging the Government to provide public answers to the questions surrounding the proposed facility.

The organisation said those answers are critical as Jamaica moves towards what it described as much-needed correctional reform.

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