Warner wants to put Carerra, Royal Jail in Central

New National Security Minister Jack Warner has announced a proposal to relocate the Port-of-Spain State Prison (Royal Jail) and the Carrera Island Prisons’ facility. He said he would approach Cabinet with a proposal to move both facilities to central Trinidad. “In the Woodford Lodge area there is a lot of land, so we should use this land to built a better prison,” Warner said.

He was speaking at a press conference at the ministry’s offices,  Temple Couxrt, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain. The conference was Warner’s first since assuming the position after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s Cabinet reshuffle last week. It followed a meeting between Warner, ministry officials and the heads of the protective services.

Among those in attendance were  Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs, Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier Kenrick Maharaj, Prisons’ Commissioner Martin Martinez and Chief Fire Officer Carl Williams. Warner also announced plans to improve living conditions for prisoners. “Slop pails should be a thing of the past. When people come to prison it should not be for punishment but instead as a means of punishment,” he said.

However, Warner commended the Prisons’ Commissioner for his work in rehabilitating prisoners but noted more should be done. He also repeated the need for increased personnel within the Protective Services to aid in fighting crime. “Currently we need 1,500 police officers, 1,500 prisons officers and 800 soldiers,” Warner said.

He hinted that Special Reserve Police (SRP) officers and fire officers would work alongside police officers to patrol crime hot spots. Warner said new police academies would be established in south and central Trinidad and in Tobago to train new recruits to the police service. Currently the only police academy is in St James. A new draft crime plan would be announced within the next couple of weeks, he added.