NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A new prison complex for The Bahamas will cost taxpayers around $40 million, Eyewitness News understands.
The cost includes the construction of the facility, prefabricated steel cells with control, and other equipment.
It does not include renewable energy solutions planned for the facility.
When contacted, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said new prison is expected to play a key role in driving down crime.
“Yes, as it will permit better programs and just not keeping people in squalor,” he told Eyewitness News.
[It] cuts down on conditions that drive recruitment.
“The prison environment creates recruitment opportunities for gangs.
The announcement of a new prison complex using a PPP facility gave rise to suggestions in some quarters that The Bahamas could see its first industrial or private prison facility, something Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe clarified in an interview with Eyewitness News on Wednesday.
He said the new complex will be run by the Department of Correctional Services and ultimately be owned by the government, though the government will engage in a public-private partnership to build the complex.
According to the budget, the Department of Correctional Services will receive $31.6 million in the upcoming budget, on par with the allocation made in the current budget of $30.8 million.
In the 2020/2021 budget, the department spent around $24.5 million.
The increased allocation in the upcoming fiscal period can be attributed to additional spending for tuition, training, in-service awards, subsistence licensing, and inspection of vehicles, which increased from $8,000 in the current budget to $190,000.
Salaries for permanent, pensionable staff will be increased from $23.7 million to $25.4 million and the provision for monthly employees will increase by around $620,000 — from 1.02 million to $1.65 million.
Conversely, expenditure for food, ice, and drinking water will decrease from $1.98 million to just $10,000, according to the budget; cleaning and clothing supplies will drop from $160,000 to just $2,000; and the allocation for building maintenance will decline by around $60,000 — from $310,000 to $250,000.
The Department of Correctional Services, which over 2,500 inmates, has been used by gangs to recruit new members.
A developing gang, known as ‘Crack Nation’, started when its alleged leader was on remand at the prison, according to the officer in charge of the department.
“He was considered a boss because he had access to cigarettes, marijuana, clothing, cell phones and had an influence on the younger persons in the community,” the officer in charge said, noting that the alleged leader Renardo Bastian and five other alleged associates were killed in a shooting that became known as the Jerome Avenue massacre.
As part of a University of The Bahamas Symposium in 2016, which centered around the interview of 350 inmates, Ian Bethel-Bennet and William Fielding, said their data indicated that gangs were reported to operate from within the prison and gang members were more concerned than non-gang members about being victims of violence when they are released.
“These findings suggest that authorities need to ensure that the prison is not a state-funded headquarters for gangs,” read the excerpt.
During the budget communication, Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said the budget includes increases to comprehensively reduce violent crime.
He said: “We need to catch and punish those who break our laws. But we also desperately need more solutions that focus on the prevention of crime, so that we can break the terrible cycles of violence that grip our country. In addition, our Second Chance program will reduce recidivism, and give people who have paid their dues to society a chance at a future.
