September 18, 1997 - Penal Reform International (PRI) today concluded its three-day fact-finding mission on penal reform in St. Lucia which it conducted in co-operation with the Caribbean Human Rights Network. The findings and recommendations will be submitted to the Government of St. Lucia as soon as possible.

The team carried out its mission in conformity with the terms of reference, with emphasis on the rehabilitation of offenders and the need for a general reform of the existing penal system.

The fact-finding team which was headed by Hon. Carl Rattray, President of the Court of Appeal of Jamaica, included Sir Stephen Tumin, former Inspector of Prisons of England and Wales; Mr. Ahmed Othmani, Chairman of PRI; Ms. Wendy Singh, Executive Director of PRI's Caribbean /Latin American Office; Mr. Victor Cuffy, Executive Secretary of Caribbean Rights and Board Member of the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights; Ms. Sheila Stuart, Co-ordinator of Caribbean Rights; and, Mr. Leo Casimir, Head of the Drug Prevention Unit of Dominica. The members have expertise in penal and legal reform, politics, law, economics, women and children's affairs, drug prevention and rehabilitation, and social work.

The team included experts who had visited some three hundred and seventy (370) prisons around the world. It visited Castries prison, La Toc prison, the temporary prison at Odsan, the temporary women's prison, the Boys Training Centre. The team concluded its mission to St. Lucia with a meeting with the Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony. It also had meetings with the Hon. Damian Greaves, Minister of Community Development, Hon. Velon John, Minister of Legal Affairs, Home Affairs and Labour, representatives of various ministries, magistrates, senior social workers, probation officers, the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the Director of the Girls Institution, and various non-governmental organizations. The results of these meetings will be considered when compiling the final report to be submitted to the Government of St. Lucia.