Support for family visits for prisoners

“If we think of it in terms of liberalising the policies within the prisons, the calls for expanding the visitation for all inmates, it is a good move,” he told Newsday over the weekend.

Saying that the issue was one of human rights, Husbands noted that the call was not new.

“That has long been recommended in terms of keeping the bonds alive and in the new prison rules, while it has not been tabled in Parliament yet - those were issues that were also incorporated in terms of increasing the number of visits.” Husbands’ support for the move came days after San Juan/ Barataria MP Dr Fuad Khan pledged to take a motion to the Parliament seeking to allow for increased visitation between inmates and their children. The former health minister said last week that he had already spoken to National Security Minister Edmund Dillon about the issue.

Khan also cited studies in San Francisco and other cities in the United States which showed that frequent visitation within the prison system benefited parents and children by reducing recidivism and the likelihood of youngsters engaging in a life of crime and delinquency.

Khan’s call was triggered by Superintendent of Prisons, Charmaine Johnson’s plea, during the annual Mother’s Day function at the Women’s Prison, for all incarcerated mothers to spend time with their children.

At present, only selected inmates are allowed to bond with their children on Mother’s Day.

Husbands said it has long been proposed that, at a minimum, parents should have special family visits on a weekend where they can have “a sober and connected bond” with their children.

“So, while we support the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day events, there is a broader policy in terns of redeeming broken lives and keeping the bonds alive.” Husbands, a former chief prison welfare officer, said studies have shown that inmates who have had ongoing contact with their children were six times less likely to re-offend than those who have not been in contact with their families.

“Therefore, we need to liberalise the visitation to reduce the potential for re-offending,” he said. “It calls for a structured programme, with the right kind of resources and staff and it will be open to all inmates, not only women but also males as well.

“That is what we call a special approach to help reduce re-offending, because the research has indicated that the frequency of the contact and the kind of impact helps reduce the likelihood of that person re-offending.” Husbands said the Prison Service should accept the recommendation in keeping with the movement toward restorative justice.

Acting Prisons Commissioner Cecil Duke, speaking through communications officer Krishna Bidaisee, has declined an interview on the issue.