Repeat offenders keep Govt busy

Repeat offenders may well constitute some 89 percent of Trinidad and Tobago’s prison population by the year 2020, said Social Services Delivery Minister, Senator Christine Kangaloo. She was speaking  at the formal opening of the Way of Holiness Centre of Restoration, Half-Way Home for Ex-Prisoners at Beach Road, Palo Seco on Saturday. Addressing an audience, which also included Commissioner of Prisons, John Rougier, Kangaloo cited a 2000 report published by Independent Senator, Professor Ramesh Deosaran, which stated that 65 percent of the present prison population were repeat offenders, an increase of 12 percent since 1990.

She said plans by Government to address crime reduction and crime preventation must incorporate mechanisms to rehabilitate prisoners, both before their release and during their reintegration into society. Kangaloo revealed that development of a Parole Policy, together with a plan of action for its implementation, had already been formulated under the guidance of a Cabinet-approved Parole Introduc-tion Commitee. She said a collective approach,  inclusive of Government, private sector and civil society participation, was the necessary ingredient in the rehabilitation of former inmates. She praised Patrick Kelly and the Way of Holiness ministry for its “twin-track” approach to the rehabilitation of ex-offenders, which included fostering positive behavioural change in inmates and job training.