BASSETERRE, St Kitts — Jamaican prisons are quietest and less chaotic when the inclusive “family day” draws near. This happens three times a year and, in contrast to regular visits, inmates are able to see their families, including their children.

But it sent a room full of officials into continuous laughter when Joyce Stone, deputy commissioner of corrections (DCC) at the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), revealed that male prisoners who aren’t fathers would “rent a pickney” just so they could participate.

“The children come to see the parents and it is a big thing for the males. Can I tell you? Sometimes they rent a pickney. Those who don’t have any children, or if the child is far away, they rent a child to come in. So, you will see the same child for John Brown appearing for Andrew Parker,” Stone said, eliciting much laughter.

She was speaking at a symposium on prison reform hosted by Improved Access (IMPACT) to Justice in the Caribbean, from July 5 to 6 at the St Kitts Marriott Resort here.

“Convicted inmates receive one visit per month but family day is when the entire family visits. Generally children are not allowed into correctional institutions, except on that day. We try to have at least three. COVID has impacted it and we’re about to restart. It is so important for them,” she added.

In 2015, Carla Gullotta, founder of Stand Up for Jamaica, lamented that prison visits by family members have declined, with some families not bothering to visit because of what she claimed was the limited time that they are allowed to spend with their loved ones.

Gullotta further stated that that creates tension and stress in the institutions, as the contact with family is “really poor and very short.”

But when Stone spoke to the Sunday Observer post presentation, there was no indication that inmates’ family members left family day wishing for more time.

“All of this is geared towards reducing recidivism. Usually, the men get the most benefit from it because in female institutions we allow the females to have regular visits with their children,” Stone said.

“Unlike regular visit days where 15 minutes or so is allowed, family day activities allow for children to come see their parents and for bonding. It’s like more of a fair, in that they come and have background music and we do popcorn and hot dogs for the children while they get to see their parents. And I must mention that our Custos of St Andrew is one of the persons who supports the activity by financing it each year.

Meanwhile, defence attorney Alexander Shaw told the Sunday Observer that he’s not surprised by the prisoners’ response to family day.

“When you look at even the very reason why some of these persons are behind bars, it is because they have taken on a life of criminality to fend for themselves and their families, either because they don’t have sufficient skills to enable them to get a decent job and to earn a decent salary,” he said, referring to these persons as “career criminals”.

“The reality of not being there to provide for them is enough burden and so, they want to reintegrate with their family by doing whatever it takes for them to even see them.”

Shaw said some prisoners would even put themselves at the risk of having cellphones, “So that they can WhatsApp call their relatives and still keep check of what’s happening in the wider society.”

He also pointed out that prisoners are more compliant with the system even when it’s time for visitation.

“I can understand why they would want to cooperate in a bid to see their families.”

Stone said the other side of family day is seeing the male prisoners get emotional.

“It is to see big men crying, children hugging and refusing to let go of their daddies. And so when it’s time for family visits, trust me, prison gets calm because nobody is going to allow anybody to disrupt the family visit — and this is across all the institutions.”

She said this is just a part of the rehabilitation elements within Jamaica’s penal system, similar to that of psychological support and counselling.

“We have a mental unit. The probation officers focus on life skills, anger management and conflict management, and of course we have some restorative justice. Also, there is spiritual nurturing and pastoral care that is provided by the chaplain’s unit. And then there are sports and extra-curricular activities, spelling bee competitions, quiz competitions, football matches.”

Stone shared that something else inmates cling to dearly is their diet, and often complain about such.

She further noted that special considerations are made for elderly inmates, pregnant women and those with noncommunicable diseases and other illnesses.

“We also have agriculture. There is Tamarind Farm and Richmond Farm Adult Correctional Centre and I’m proud to say that we have a farm-to-feed programme, and we are self-sufficient in poultry meat. That helps us to improve the diets of the inmates, which is a big concern for them,” she said, noting that the department offsets the cost of food by growing crops.

“We do like 5,000 chickens every six weeks and so it amounts to a lot of saving for the Department of Correctional Services. We also farm bananas and a number of cash crops like callaloo, tomatoes, cucumbers and so forth at the farm institution,” Stone revealed.