The Department of Correctional Services has knocked down its operational expenses by $400 million in less than three and a half years, by its efforts to be self-supporting, Commissioner, Major Richard Reece has announced.

A whopping $65 million had been saved on meals, after the correctional services returned to self catering and the cost of feeding an inmate was now a mere $4 per day, Reece told the general meeting of the Probation/Aftercare Officers Staff Association at the Ocho Rios Baptist Church hall in St Ann Friday.

“Savings have (also) been realised in our baking operations; we are now baking for four institutions in St Catherine,” Reece later told the Sunday Observer.

“We have effected savings in terms of our limits that we have set in terms of various expense accounts – travelling, claims etc. Transportation is another area that we have effected savings. We repair our own buildings, the amounts that would have had to be paid in terms of construction costs and maintenance costs have been very significant,” he explained.

The savings coincided with the tenure of Reece who credited the collective effort of the staff for the achievement. But the celebrations were cut short after Reece disclosed that the department, while effecting savings, had exceeded its budgetary allocation each year.

Responding to a call from UCASE president, Danny Roberts that the staff should benefit from the savings by way of welfare programmes, Reece said: “Overall, we exceeded our budgetary allocation each year…Unfortunately the minister of finance view things globally so if at the end of the day you go over your budget then there is nothing to be had,” Reece told the Sunday Observer.

“We do know, however, that our budgetary allocations approved for us were inadequate, so I think we were handicapped at the beginning of the race,” Reece added.

Roberts had noted that under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and unions representing public sector workers, staff at the Correctional Services Department were entitled to benefits from the savings.

“The MOU makes provision for whatever savings that can be generated from a more efficient utilisation of resources within a particular government entity, that a portion of that saving must be spent on matters relating to the development and welfare of the staff,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Meanwhile, Reece said the next major objective of the department would be to open the Montpelier Juvenile Correctional Centre now being refurbished in St James.

The department was also “actively pursuing” the rental of properties to be used as children remand centre, as there wre no centres for boys and girls and this would take some time to build, the commissioner explained.

“We have identified one possible site so far but have not done the detailed inspection,” he said.

Major Reece who is currently on a two-year contract as commissioner of the correctional services after completing an initial three year tenure, said he would seek to renew his contract when the current one expired.