PRISON authorities are hailing increased rehabilitation programmes and recreational activities as the reason for a drop in violent incidents inside the island’s penal institutions.

According to head of the Department of Correctional Services, Major Richard Reese, violent incidents at the Tower Street and St Catherine Adult Correctional Centres have dropped by 30 and 46 per cent, respectively.

At the Tower Street prison, violent incidents dropped from 204 in 2006 to 144 last year, while 16 inmates were victims of violent attacks last year compared to 30 in 2006.

“We have introduced football, cricket, table games, the information technology lab, a music studio and the prison radio is now on stream. We have also started anger management courses,” Reese told the Observer.

Inmates have also been given the opportunity to sit external examinations.

The department, said Reese, has also stepped up a culling system designed to sift out inmates who have committed non-violent crimes such as fraud, embezzlement and simple larceny.

“We have been decreasing the number of persons in custody at the high risk facilities to medium and low risk institutions. This is done on a weekly basis as we don’t wait too long to sort them out,” Reese said.

Reese also praised the efforts of charitable organisations and the church for assistance to the prisons.

“We have also had significant input from prison ministries, medical and evangelical missions” Reese said.

A total of 211 violent incidents were recorded at eight penal institutions in 2007, representing a 25 per cent drop from the 283 incidents recorded in 2006.