Prison authorities seized 833 cell phones at the two prisons in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2024.
The figure was 300 more than the 530 confiscated last year and, statistically, was about two cell phones for each of the nation’s inmates.
Acting Superintendent of Prisons, Dwyane Bailey told the High Court on Dec. 19 that the figure was “an alarming number”.
Presenting the prison status report at the closing of the assizes, Bailey told the special sitting presided over by Justice Rickie Burnett that there were 86 infractions at the prisons this year.
There were two breaches by civilians against the prison regulations and the fence at the Belle Isle Correctional Facility was breached seven times while there were four breaches of the fence at His Majesty’s Prison in Kingstown.
“There continues to be a significant challenge to prison security. The prevalence of cell phones and other prohibited articles is worrying and troubling to the management of the prisons,” Bailey said.
He said efforts to combat this have proven effective in the detection and confiscation, but in the area of prevention, the situation seems to be getting worse, especially at the Belle Isle correctional facility.
Responding to questions from the judge and lawyers, Bailey said the Belle Isle Correctional Facility is the biggest offender with 700 of the 833 cell phones seized there.
“It is something that I have tried to address,” Bailey said.
He told the court that two members of the public were arrested for smuggling contraband into the prison. One was a cell phone chip and the other was marijuana.
Bailey said 86 inmates found to be in breach of the prison rules had time added to their sentences and were not eligible for any of the privileges extended to inmates during Christmas.
The prison chief said inmates do not have access to the internet at the Belle Isle Correctional Facility.
“Family members continue to put credit and data on those phones for inmates. They indulge them in the practice and then they complain about the punishment meted out to them when they are found with cell phones,” Bailey told the court.
“I am hoping that in the new year and with all the provisions we are making that we could stop the influx of cell phones.”
Bailey said that most of the phones recovered from inmates were found to contain pornographic materials, and the inmates use the devices to watch movies and make calls.
He said he has contacted the police on several instances where the inmates were trying to do “nefarious things on the outside”.
“It is something that is worrying, that is concerning but something we are trying to address.”
Bailey said there is a system of access to telephones in the prison where every inmate is allowed to call 10 people approved by the prison authorities.
The inmates can go to a phone at any time and make a call to any of those 10, Bailey said, adding that the phone system is set up in such a way that a prisoner cannot call outside of those approved numbers.
“If it is an issue of reaching out to family members, there is nothing preventing them from doing that.”
Bailey said he has raised with the authorities multiple times the concerns about cell phone use among inmates.
He said the authorities have told him that installing a cellular signal jammer at the prisons could affect the cell phone tower above the Belle Isle facility and expose the government to a lawsuit.
Bailey said he was happy to report that the lights for the perimeter at Belle Isle have been purchased and should be installed in January of next year.
The lookout tower is under construction and officers are being trained to use high-power rifles to address those issues, the prison chief said.
He said two surveillance drones have been acquired and officers have been selected to undergo training to operate those drones to help prevent security breaches at the prisons.
Bailey said significant work will be done on the trade shop in January, which will result in a designated space for all rehabilitation programmes.
There were 416 people – 410 males and six females — in prison at the time of the report.
Murder continues to account for the highest number of inmates — 96 — of whom 64 are serving sentencing, 18 are awaiting trial, and 14 are on remand.
There were 19 people in prison for manslaughter with wounding, sex offences (rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, indecent assault) and robbery representing the highest figures – 47, 55, and 28, respectively.
Bailey said there were 30 inmates with mental illness in the nation’s prisons, of whom 26 are on medication.
Of the total number, 18 of them are charged with murder or manslaughter and eight of them are awaiting trial.
Bailey said inmates with mental health issues continue to pose a significant risk to other inmates and staff as more incidents are occurring where inmates injure other inmates and, in one case, an officer.
He said sick leave and absenteeism by some officers is a worrying concern.
The prison farm contributes significantly towards the prison’s diet, providing inmates with ground provisions, vegetables and eggs regularly, Bailey told the High Court.
It’s simple issue to combat, how do they get the phone charged, just cut off the charging supply, the phone cannot work without charging anymore it then becomes a junk, problem solved.
cut the supply lol and leave in darkness you are so funny