WE would not be surprised if Mr Earl Fearon, the new head of the prison services, is a deeply concerned, even worried man.

We would be, at least, suspicious.

Mr Fearon is taking on a difficult job in difficult circumstances. He is also being warmly welcomed by Mr Lambert Brown, the vice president of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU), which represents prison warders, most of whom are on suspension.

Mr Brown, we are sure, will forgive us, if we saw his embrace of Mr Fearon as a sort of kiss of death. He would forgive Mr Fearon if he, too, came to that conclusion.

It is not that this newspaper doubts the UAWU's and Lambert Brown's ability to adequately represent employees and to work in the broad interest of the society. Indeed, they have done it, even if some will claim, in patches. For instance, until the UAWU's miscalculation and substantial blunder at the Jamalco alumina refinery, its leadership, including Mr Brown, had performed with credit in the bauxite and alumina industry.

However, Mr Brown's schoolboy impetuosity in the leadership of the prison warders has, in our view, caused great harm to the effective management of the prison system and helped to bring hardships to the warders themselves.

It is perhaps instructive that there was, and has been, no great outpouring of sympathy for the 800 or so warders who were suspended after their January 2000 "sick out", which, we believe, was tantamount to an illegal strike.

They had been led down that thorny path by Mr Brown to protest re-appointment of Mr Fearon's successor, Col John Prescod, as head of the prison services.

Weaknesses have been identified in Col Prescod's management style, but he had earned the ire of many warders not because of this, but for his attempt to bring a level of decency to the operations of the penal facilities and the elimination of corruption. It is unfortunate that the UAWU and Mr Brown did not give a more measured tone and response to his initiatives. It may have lessened some of the tensions and violence that have dogged the prisons in the past five years.

It is against that backdrop that many people will view Mr Brown's seemingly warm welcome of Mr Fearon and will wonder whether he is being lulled into a complacency which, ultimately, may be damaging. On the other hand, people may view this embrace as a suggestion that Mr Fearon stands for indiscipline and old-style operation of prisons which could facilitate those with an inclination to be corrupt.

We hope that we are proven wrong and that what we are seeing is a mature Lambert Brown who, while not shedding tears for Col Prescod, is willing to work with Mr Fearon for fundamental reform of the prisons, including kicking out corrupt, lazy and incompetent warders.

Now, does Mr Fearon have the stomach for the job?

Except for the views expressed in the columns above, the articles published on this page do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Jamaica Observer.

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