GOVERNMENT officials last night denied knowledge of a plan by the British government to offer Jamaicans incarcerated in that country up to £5,000 (J$720,000) if they take up an offer to return home before their sentences expire.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Kenneth Baugh, as well as Minister of Information Daryl Vaz, both expressed ignorance of the UK government's decision when contacted by the Observer.

"I will have to research it and then I can respond," Dr Baugh said, sounding taken aback while promising to investigate the matter.

Vaz was equally puzzled about the plan.

"I don't know about that," the information minister said.

Under the proposed deal, convicted rapists, drug dealers and robbers will be given credit cards valued at £450 each, as soon as they leave British soil and will collect the rest of their money when they arrive in their native land.

They will also get £46 each, which can be spent in the UK.

There was no comment on the plan from the British High Commission in Kingston.

There was also no word from Minister of National Security Dwight Nelson.

But while some local officials expressed their ignorance, a senior member of the constabulary yesterday lashed out at the decision and called on the Jamaica Government to bar the move.

"I hope the diplomatic channels will be used to dissuade the British Government. It is not something that any well-thinking Jamaican, much less a law enforcement officer would support," said the senior officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The move would see the British Government saving £100 a day per prisoner and would have an even larger influx of criminal deportees entering the island.

An estimated 46,000 deportees have been sent back to Jamaica from Britain, Canada and the USA over the last two-and-a-half decades.

The police officer accused Britain of attempting to offload criminals, created in their system, to Jamaica and said that it would increase the country's already high crime rate.

"We already have a major crime problem and what Britain is trying to do is to pass on the problem to Jamaica. If a man is convicted in Britain then he should serve out his sentence there," the senior cop said.

He also hit out against the amount of cash being offered.

"This can also be viewed as paying a man to commit a crime. When these people come to Jamaica, chances are they are going to continue to live a life of crime," he said.

However, President of the Association for the Resettlement of Returning Residents (ARRR), Percival LaTouche, lauded the move and said that it would help to soften the harsh reality of deportation.

Many deportees left the island as children and have no family ties or real memories of life in Jamaica.

"It can curtail the boomerang effect that involuntary returnees may experience. Secondly, it reduces the potential of those persons to become misfits and disruptive elements in Jamaican society," LaTouche said.

LaTouche said that his association had been lobbying the British, US and Canadian governments to make the move for 15 years and congratulated the British government for taking his advice.

"In fact, we welcome the move as the ARRR has successfully advocated for persons who are being returned to the country after their incarceration to have their belongings shipped on or before their arrival. This will allow them to pursue a livelihood and to escape some of the challenges that accompany an involuntary returnee to their native land," LaTouche told the Observer.

He also called on other countries with large populations of Jamaican prisoners to do likewise.

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