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Contact: Adhara King
Thursday, August 7, 2008 – In light of his recent appointment as Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Senator the Honourable Guy Mayers took an assessment tour of the Bordelais Correctional Facilty.
The tour lasted an entire day and included visits to the administrative facility, as well as inmate's rehabilitation and prison facilities.
Senator Mayers shared his thoughts on the visit: “I must say it has been an emotional roller coaster ride for me. I really didn't know what to expect, and it was necessary for me to come and spend some time at the facility to meet staff, to have discussions with the director and to tour the facility to see first-hand what things were like at the facility.”
The minister was given an opportunity to converse with inmates who were eager to share their stories and evaluations. Senator Mayers also received briefings by staff members on duty at every interval of the tour, as it was his intent to evaluate the real-life situations encountered on a daily basis at the facility.
“There's a lot of work to be done. Today was the start and I am satisfied that the physical infrastructure is okay, but there is a lot of work to be done in terms of rehabilitating prisoners,” Mayers said, “because you want to ensure that work is done with them, that when they leave the facility you're preparing them to get back into society.”
In addition to the need for greater rehabilitation efforts, Minister Mayers vocalized concern about the large number of inmates on remand. He highlighted the situation as a high priority issue, and indicated that he is engaged in ongoing dialogue with the Attorney General's office and the Ministry of Justice in efforts to address the situation. |
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