Trinidad and Tobago can no longer ignore the disgraceful conditions in our prisons. The Frederick Street prison should be relocated from the heart of Port of Spain (as mentioned in the budget, prisons will be upgraded.)
Overcrowding, inadequate washroom facilities and the use of buckets where proper sanitation should exist are unacceptable. These conditions threaten the health of inmates and prison officers alike. The risk of disease spreading is a serious public health concern demanding urgent action.
We must recognise the prison officers who perform a difficult and often dangerous job under challenging conditions. They deserve our respect, adequate staffing, proper equipment and safe working environments.
Government must urgently reduce overcrowding, improve sanitation and healthcare, modernise prison facilities, strengthen rehabilitation and establish a clear plan to relocate the Frederick Street prison.
Prison is a place of punishment and rehabilitation, not a place where human dignity and basic sanitation are abandoned. Our prison officers deserve better, inmates must be treated humanely, and prison reform can no longer wait.
Gordon Laughlin.
Westmoorings
