Prison survey report submitted, under review, to be made public soon- CSSP

The prison survey, which is being facilitated by the Citizen Security Strengthening Programme’s (CSSP) Component Three and the University of Guyana, has been submitted.

This was disclosed by CSSP’s Project Manager, Clement Henry during an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI).

Henry said that the report was submitted on October 27, 2017 and is currently being reviewed by the Guyana Prison Service and CSSP’s project team. He explained that before the report’s recommendations can be taken on board, they must fit all terms of reference and be carefully analysed by the stakeholders. He pointed out, however, that the recommendations and findings of the survey will soon be made public.

The sum of US$74,200 has been allocated for the survey. Faculty members from UG’s Turkeyen and Tain campuses, including medical and legal personnel, mathematicians, criminologist and social workers comprised the core team that led the survey. Additionally, 30 students from the university were trained in data collection to assist the team in conducting the survey.

The survey is part of Component Three of the CSSP, which seeks to:

• finance sustainable re-entry initiatives by assessing rehabilitation and reintegration needs across the prison system,
• develop a rehabilitation and reintegration model based on the needs assessments and the outputs of the survey,
• develop a case management programme to support and track inmate progress and offer training to Guyana Prison Service (GPS) staff on delivering rehabilitation and reintegration services.

According to the DPI, the CSSP is a five-year programme that aims to contribute to a reduction in crime and violence in Guyana, especially in targeted communities and among youths, by increasing their human and social capacity. The specific objectives of the project are to: the improve behaviours for non- violent conflict resolution in targeted communities; increase the Guyana Police Force’s effectiveness in crime prevention and crime investigation; and improve the Guyana Prison Service’s effectiveness in reducing offender recidivism.