News

Spence-Jarrett sacked over Armadale

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

HEAD of the Department of Correctional Services June Spence-Jarrett was yesterday fired after appearing before the Public Services Commission (PSC).

Spence-Jarrett had come under heavy flak after a commission of enquiry into the death by fire of seven wards of the State-run Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre in St Ann found correctional authorities culpable.

Justice Paul Harrison, who chaired the enquiry, had described Spence-Jarrett as "uncaring and inhumane" for taking the decision to house 23 girls in a dormitory fit to be occupied by no more than five persons.

According to Harrison's report, Spence-Jarrett was negligent.

"I find that in March 2008, Mrs Spence-Jarrett, then deputy commissioner, unwisely did make the fateful decision to house the 23 girls in the office dormitory measuring 20 feet by 12 feet and with seven double bunk beds only, containing 14 mattresses. That decision was a patent breach of the duty to promote the best interests of children, violated the statutory requirements and was accordingly negligent in all circumstances," the report stated.

Harrison also said Spence-Jarrett was evasive and less than truthful when she testified before the commission.

The seven girls -- Ann-Marie Samuels, Nerrissa King, Rachael King, Kaychell Nelson, Shauna-Lee Kerr, Georgina Saunders and Stephanie Smith -- succumbed to burn injuries sustained in the fire. The girls had been in lockdown at the facility.

Nerrissa King, Rachael King, Samuels, Nelson and Kerr died at Armadale, while Saunders and Smith died in hospital days after.

Attempts to reach Spence-Jarrett for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.

Yesterday, Carolyn Gomes, executive director of human rights lobby group Jamaicans For Justice, who has been advocating Spence-Jarrett's dismissal ever since the contents of the report were made public, was full of praise for the PSC.

"I am heartened that the PSC has taken this important step in insisting on accountability," Gomes said.

However, she was also adamant that firing Spence-Jarrett was not the only measure needed to repair the unacceptable conditions in which wards of the State are housed and treated in the country.

"This is not the end; it is just the first step in fixing the system," Gomes said.

Spence-Jarrett spent two years as the head of the correctional services after taking over from former permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security Major Richard Reese.

Reese has since been demoted to the post of director general in local government department at the Office of the Prime Minister. It's not clear whether Reese's transfer is related to the Armadale incident.

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COMMENTS (13)

3/17/2010

I have one problem though. I know these old timers especially with minors and under their care think they can treat them, "any kinda way". But how comes the males never get fired?

norris Richards
3/16/2010

If she is fired it will be in the best interest of the poor Jamaicans taxpayers, is this news coming from the horses’ mouth, firing would be unusual, because the elites in Jamaica do not get fired they are transferred to continue with their destructive ways.
When people seek senior positions in government, if they screw-up they must be fired, just as how it is done in the private sector. There is a tendency senior managers working for the government are not fired instead they are shuffled to other positions in the bureaucracy to carrying on as usual.
If this country continued to keep failed bureaucrats in the government’s employment when they found waiting, then we will continue to get the same disastrous results we have been getting for the past 40 plus years.
The buck must stop on the manager’s desk period. In other words they must take responsibility for what happen under their watch.

Duane Parkin
3/16/2010

Now action is taking place. Let's hope that she won't just be a scape goat for the others. There was a total lack of oversight at many levels. I will be waiting to see how long it takes for the other axe to fall.

Verna Kitson
3/16/2010

Excellent news! Now the parents of those girls need to sue the hell out of her! There is no excuse for using one's power to mistreat or perpetuate the mistreatment of anybody. Every one of these administrators should take note. If someone dies in your care, you are responsible.

Brooklyn Jamaican
3/16/2010

I am pretty sure if there was adequate space and comfort she would not have bundled the all up in one room. I mean she has to accept blame but for years peopel who have been in charge of wards of stae and prisoners in general have been inducted into a culture of disrespect and inhumane treatment.
She alone should not bear the brunt for something that has been institutionalized for generations.

Leo Anderson
3/16/2010

well mi little cousin Georgina Saunders died in this and all we get is one lady been fired. She is just the scapegoat of a messed up system. After them give the woman basket to carry water them turn around and put everything on her. there are much deeper problems with this and many of our systems in Jamaica. What do you do when the government does not even care to setup the proper framework for a good society? so many questions, so few answers

JAN WATTS
3/16/2010

It take the death of young kids to do something, well sad but still has a long way to go, as far as i can see it.

Paul Lewis
3/16/2010

I wonder when will Government take responsibility for any failures that may occur under their stewardship ?. We are tired of the blame game, we have a habit of "swapping black dog fi monkey . Apparently every office seeker has the remedy for all our ills, until they get within the confines of Gordon House. There should be a systematic cleansing of the environs. Maybe there is a " Duppy " or the dreaded " Rollng Calf " which takes a hold of all and sundry thus transforming them into IDIOTS.

Hope Alive
3/16/2010

It seems to me that the Observer now speaks for the Govt. They sacked two Ministers of Security, They leaked the stages of the extradition of Mr. Coke in yesterday's paper, and now it is saying that this lady is fired without the PSC or the Govt saying so. Go Observer, you are large and in charge.

JA Cynic
3/16/2010

Was she fired from the civil service or merely transferred?
JA Cynic

Richard Edwards
3/16/2010

The truth of the matter is George, is that the Minister does not micromanage everything that his ministry does, so tasks are relegated to persons below him. If there is a deficiency, or if things are not operating as they should, the person who has the responsibility to fix it should see to it that it is fixed. June Spence-Jarett had a job to, clearly she did not do it, and as such should be sacked. I am no fan of Mr Collateral Damage, because I think he is one of the worst Minister of National Security the nation has seen, others have been bad, but make no mistakes, he takes the cake. I am still trying to figure out how Bruce Golding goes about picking his Ministers, because this was just a very bad choice. As it relates to the Armadale situation, I agree that government does not always provide the resources to get the job done, but what happended at Armadale was way more than just lack of resources. We still wait on Mr Owen Ellington and the Police Services Commission to tell us what will be the fate of Officer Burrel, who we now know, according to the Armadale Report, started this fire, whichresultedin in the death of seven of our young citizens. We want to see action taken against him too, Jamaica cannot continue to operate the way it does.
Richard Edwards. New york City
betterlifeforjamaicans@yahoo.com

george watson
3/16/2010

Once, in the not too distant past it was the government which was held accountable for every act of ommision or commission. Of late I have found that the buck stops at the civil servants and other heads of department. We have now had our third fallout from Armadale and I have not heard the Minister even mentioned in all of this.
Why did Mr. Juastice Harrison not call on the Minister to testify? And it would have been interesting if he had, and the minister was found lacking, whether he would have been sacked by Mr. Golding.
Donkey says...........

renrick hall
3/16/2010

So sad that the buck seem to stop there. What about the minister? I worked with the department for over two years when we were building the Horizon Remand Centre and had a very hard time trying to please individuals who wanted the world and his wife with the little money that were available. Generally they mean well and would likely have done better had more been available. I saw the conditions that they were working in and how they had to make do with the little or nothing available.
Over the years that department has had to make do with nothing; and promises to "fix" things have gone unfulfilled. Mrs. Jarrett, Major Reece and all the others who "survived" the system were under the direction of ministers of government, who should be called to book on matters like these.
I hope that we will one day see the need to exercise the true meaning of the word rehabilitation.

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