Dear Editor,

The police have stated that the heinous Cherry Tree Lane murders may have connections to convicts currently serving time in prison. This has once again brought the matter of Jamaica’s prison system into enough focus to earn a recent newspaper article, published on August 14, 2024, entitled ‘Prison politics’.

The article recounted the position articulated by Andrew Holness back in 2015, whilst serving as leader of the Opposition, regarding the infamous ‘UK prison deal’.

According to the article, “In 2015, Holness, as Opposition leader, demanded that the Portia Simpson Miller Administration immediately abandon a deal that was being pursued with Britain to build a new prison. He said the deal was not in the interest of Jamaica.” There are those who, by this reference alone, would feel justified in concluding that Holness scuttled a deal that would have now been benefiting Jamaica. The narrow presentation of recent history and any biased conclusions drawn from it is easily dismantled by entering a few key words into any search engine that would reveal several articles showing that Holness was not alone in not supporting the UK prison deal.

Public sentiment was overwhelmingly opposed to the deal, not only on the emotional issues but more so on the economic issues. Though Jamaica would get a grant of £25 million, the Government would have had to find the 60 per cent balance of $6.75 billion and agree to take imprisoned Jamaican immigrants from the UK, who would eventually be deported to Jamaica, to complete their sentences.

In essence, the UK would contract out their prison obligations to Jamaica at a savings to their taxpayers and ultimately at a cost ours. The capital cost and the recurring cost would have been significant relative to our budget and other more pressing needs such as health care, education, and water infrastructure. Further, the prison would not have necessarily addressed the critical need, that of a high-security facility to isolate the masterminds and kingpins of the criminal underworld who direct crime from the safety of their prison cells.

There is no denying, Jamaica is in need of modern, fit-for-purpose prison facilities; however, the conversation must again be directed back to the facts and contexts. The referenced article pointed to various reports about overcrowding in our current prisons without acknowledging that Jamaica has one of the lowest incarceration rates in the region. If expenditure on prisons is to have an impact on national security and crime, replacing existing prisons to humanely accommodate the existing prison population is not going to be enough. At least for the foreseeable future, Jamaica must make provision to increase incarceration for serious crimes.

We don’t have the fiscal space to build more prisons and more schools at the same time like the US and Canada; therefore, Jamaica has to be more strategic in its fiscal choice. This is where Holness has been consistent in focusing on capital expenditure that addresses the immediate development needs. The comfort of prisoners and prison reform could not take priority over the comfort of students and education reform.

By any objective measure, not least our financial position, Jamaica is in a much better place than it was back in 2015 at the height of the UK prison deal controversy. Jamaica has achieved considerable debt reduction; eight consecutive years of no new taxes; record low unemployment; moderate inflation; and 11 successive quarters of economic growth, which is testament to the management of our country’s affairs.

We are more advanced in our fiscal capacity to devise and roll out home-grown solutions to our problems than we have ever been. Given the manifest impact of the Cherry Tree Lane murders, it may now be time for the Holness Administration to bring forward plans to build a high-security prison to isolate the kingpins and masterminds. Consideration should also be given to either constructing or retrofitting facilities to accommodate gang trials. The current facilities are inadequate, and if the Government is serious they will have several gang trials to prosecute over the next five years.

Brian Nunes

briannunes712@yahoo.com