Babies to stay with mothers in jail

The prison will decide if the mother would be allowed to spend any more time with their babies.

Financed through the Ministry of National Security, the facility would also ensure that both male and female inmates with children under 18 would be able to interact with their children in a non-custodial environment.

Under the current system, pregnant inmates deliver their babies at Mt Hope. The babies are then taken away and are either put up for adoption, or handed over to the mother’s relatives. The decision to construct the facility came about after it was discovered that both mothers and babies were being robbed of the bond between mother and child.

Yesterday, at the launch of a prison service Web site at the Maximum Security Prison, Junior Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds said the planning for the new facility was going full speed ahead.

He said that the facility was one of the positive things taking place within the confines of the prison environment.

Hinds noted that members of non-governmental organisations would be instrumental in the organisation of the new facility.

According to Hinds, both baby and mother need time together so the baby would not miss the warmth and love which only a mother can provide. He said it was definitely a disadvantage for a baby to be separated from its mother at birth. In addition to the new facility, the prison service is also expected to get more vehicles and training for officers.

According to Hinds, the prison service should no longer be a place where people are sent as a form of punishment.

He added that the prison should also be a place of rehabilitation so that inmates would be better citizens when they are released.

He promised that prisoners would be exposed to skills training to encourage them towards a more positive life.

Prisons’ Commissioner John Rougier welcomed the construction of the new facility, saying he was pleased at the positive changes taking place. Yesterday, the prison service launched its own Web site and also presented promotion letters to 26 officers.