The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded Support for the Criminal Justice System SCJS Programme which was implemented to reduce prison overcrowding in Guyana will come to an end on August 20, 2022.
This was revealed by the Permanent Secretary of the Legal Affairs on Monday during a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at Parliament Buildings. Though there were some challenges with implementing the Programme, the PAC heard that most of the activities under the programme have been completed.
Back in 2016, a US$8 million project was approved by the IDB to help Guyana overcome prison overcrowding, by reducing pre-trial detentions and increasing the use of alternative sentencing, among other measures.
The loan’s objective is to contribute to the high concentrations of the prison population in the country, which stands at 256 per 100,000 of the national population, well above the world average of 146 per 100,000.
According to a press release posted on the bank’s website, the Guyanese criminal justice system tends to use incarceration as the default sanction. It said that high rates of imprisonment have been associated with an individual’s future proclivity for crime and difficulties in securing employment, among other negative factors.
“Building or expanding prison facilities can be a short-term fix for overcrowding, but if root causes are not addressed, the new facilities will eventually be filled,” the release added. The SCJP Programme is divided into two components.
The first component seeks to reduce the use of pre-trial detention, especially for individuals accused of minor offenses. The idea is to provide better legal assistance to individuals accused of non-violent offences, improve the prosecutors’ ability to handle cases according to the seriousness of the offence, strengthen the Judiciary, and design and implement a restorative justice programme.
A second component seeks to increase the use of alternative sentencing by the criminal justice system in Guyana. This includes strengthening the country’s legal drafting functions, modernising probation services, and implementing a pilot project at the Magistrate Court level to apply alternatives to imprisonment to non-violent offenders. The programme is designed to complement a previously approved citizen security programme targeting high-crime neighbourhoods.
The $8 million loan is divided into two parts. Four million dollars is financed via the IDB’s ordinary capital and has a 30-year amortisation period and an interest rate based on Libor. The remaining $4 million is through the IDB’s subsidised lending arm. It has a 40-year amortisation period and a fixed interest rate of 0.25 per cent.
During a presentation on the SCJS Programme mid-year report in August of last year, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, had said that there has been tremendous progress with the implementation of the programme’s objectives.
“There are certain initiatives that are coming out of this project that are going to be transformational and hopefully permanent institutional. It will be transformational in the sense that they will permanently change the landscape of our legal sector,” Nandlall had said.
Meanwhile, at the forum, SCJS’ Project Manager Indira Anandjit had provided a detailed appraisal of the programme. “From the programme emanated a legal aid clinic; following a consultancy from John Kendrick to design a State-owned legal programme, which focuses on minor, non-violent offences, the legal aid clinic was established in January 2020,” Anandjit had stated.
She had said the clinic, which offers free legal services to the public, has dealt with over 122 cases, of which 77 matters were completed with 45 pending. She had noted that the Ministry of Legal Affairs was able to draft a Restorative Justice Bill and develop standards, guidelines, and rules of procedure for the implementation of restorative justice in Guyana.
The Project Manager had further noted that a major factor contributing to the overcrowding in prison in Guyana is the flawed nature of the country’s bail system. She had explained that the overcrowding situation is compounded when persons remain in prison when they are unable to meet bail.
Such persons may end up serving longer periods on remand than they would have served if found guilty of the offence, Anandjit added. To address the misfortune, under the SCJS, a Bail Act will be enacted to ensure greater consistency in the granting of bail and to provide specific guidelines for Magistrates and Judges.
One other alternative to imprisonment is probation. This area is encouraged by the SCJS Programme. It was pointed out that being placed on probation does not mean that the offenders are getting off lightly, but instead they have the opportunity to make amends and rehabilitate while remaining in their communities.
Community service is also another alternative to imprisonment that is identified by the SCJS Programme. Community service is not a “soft option if properly implemented and supervised”. Instead, it makes serious demands on offenders in terms of their time, regular attendances, prompt timekeeping, and satisfactory performance of work. The introduction of structured community service will cut the prison population and make amends for the harm done to victims of crime.
Editor’s Note: This article previously stated in its headline that the project was US$80M. It has since been corrected to reflect the true value, which is US$8M.
