Incarcerated individuals are systematically categorised within the island’s correctional facilities to assess their risk levels and to where they will be placed while serving their sentences.
Head of the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, Superintendent Ivan Randall of the Department of Correctional Services, elaborated on the process revealing that the classification begins at the court level, where inmates are categorised into three main groups.
“Our first interaction with inmates is when they are sent to us by the courts. The court groups them as convicted, awaiting trial and those that have been convicted and have appealed their sentences,” Superintendent Randall said.
“An awaiting-trial person has gone to court, and we keep them until their next court date. An appellant is a person who has been sentenced but has appealed either the sentence or the conviction, or both. Regarding convicted persons, we hold inmates ranging from 30 days to multiple life sentences,” he shared.
Superintendent Randall explained that inmates are then assessed based on their security level.
“They are deemed either high security, which if they escape, they pose a danger to society and to the public in general. We have regular inmates who cannot be held in low security but have to stay in one of the maximums,” he said.
“We also have inmates who can be classified and sent to the medium-security plants, which are the farm institutions, Tamarind Farm and Richmond Farm. They concentrate on farming, but they still do other rehab activities,” the superintendent said.
A separation is naturally made for female inmates, who are housed at the South Camp Road Adult Correctional Centre. They are also assessed based on their security risks.
“These are the same range of sentences and the same categories. We also have an infirmary for inmates who have difficulty taking care of themselves. They are held at the infirmary where all the professionals who work in the sector are there, and they are assisted in their day-to-day activities,” Randall said.
