00:00During the set of emergency raids at the nation's prison, inmates have been found in possession of many of the luxuries available to those who walk free.
00:10Minister of Defense Wayne Sturge and Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander have recently raised an alarm over the influx of contraband entering the nation's prisons.
00:20This includes, they say, a 65-inch television delivered to an inmate, mobile phones, drugs and even firearms.
00:29But who should be held responsible? Should the prison commissioner be held to account and resign over these fines which occurred under his watch?
00:38One security expert and former national security minister and police commissioner says it's too early to tell.
00:45Before we start putting heads on the chopping block, first we need to ascertain as to why have the prisons reached this situation?
00:52Is it because of the prison commissioner? Is it because of the system? Is it because of the state not providing the support?
00:58Is it because of poor intelligence gathering, poor sharing of information, which is why we had the NOC?
01:04So before we start pointing fingers, we have to ascertain who is the cause? What is the cause of the problem?
01:09Even as it pertains to the 65-inch television, who brought it in? What is the justification?
01:13What is the rationale? Which checks and balances done? Was the line minister and even the prisons commissioner, were they aware of it?
01:21So before we start pointing fingers, we need to make sure we have enough data to then ensure that there will be consequences for those persons who may have heard in their decision.
01:30Meanwhile, President of the Prison Officers Association, Jared Gordon, stresses that the findings within the nation's prisons point to systemic and deep-rooted issues existent for years.
01:42He tells TV6 the frontline officers who continue to work under extremely dangerous and under-resourced conditions should not be the ones constantly bearing the brunt of the blame.
01:53As per the calls for the prisons commissioner to resign or apologise, he says that must be weighed against the bigger picture.
02:01Gordon says, quote,
02:02Our current commissioner has been in the position acting for just over a year and to have him held responsible for years of neglect is unreasonable, end quote.
02:29And he says the welfare and integrity of the officers must be protected if authorities are serious about addressing these challenges.
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