Senior Investigative Reporter
shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt
When Deopersad Ramoutar assumed office as Acting Prisons Commissioner in February 2022, he was prepared to face resistance from the prison population.
It turned out that the 3,059 men and women behind bars were the least of his worries. His biggest challenge was dealing with opposition from a small group of “negative” prison officers under his charge.
Ramoutar spoke to the Sunday Guardian on a wide range of issues during an exclusive interview at the Prisons Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, last week. June 5 will be Ramoutar’s last day on the job after serving for almost 36 years. He will proceed on vacation and retire on October 30.
Defending the prison service, Ramoutar said, “The police have more crooked officers than us, the fire service has crooked officers, the army has crooked officers, customs, licensing offices, and I can go on. It is not peculiar to the prison service.”
But, for speaking out against dishonest or crooked officers in the prisons, Ramoutar said, he became “unpopular with some people, especially with the staff members who have given me a pushback or resistance to what I am doing.”
“We have a handful of officers who are undesirable and shouldn’t be in the service. I make no qualms about saying that ... and I have locked up quite a few of them.”
These undesirable officers, according to Ramoutar, “have the mindset of some criminal inmates, unfortunately,” and also worked in collusion with prisoners to conduct illegal operations in jail.
Of the 3,000 plus prison officers in the system, Ramoutar said 12 were arrested and charged under his stewardship for bringing illegal cellphones, cigarettes, and marijuana into the prison.
Some were even caught “red-handed” entering the prison with contraband following a sting operation.
Now on suspension with half and three-quarters of their monthly pay, Ramoutar said the officers have retained “crafty lawyers” who run to their side. “They have mechanisms. They get bail very early—the same day they are held. They don’t get to spend a night in prison as a deterrent. When they get bail, the officers laugh at us.”
To compound matters, Ramoutar said when the cases are called in court, the police do not appear, resulting in the magistrate dismissing the matter.
“To me, that is a slap in the face of justice and what we do.”
Hits from prison, gangs in jail
Asked about hits being ordered by inmates from within prison walls, Ramoutar said that question should be directed to the police. Ramoutar, however, did not deny that gangs operate in jail. What the prisons have been preventing is gang rivalry and its members attacking each other. “We have separation, relocation to manage that tension that could develop,” he said.
He said prisoners have been using illegal cellphones to communicate with people on the outside and they talk to visitors in codes.
“That is the challenge of fighting crime; you cannot stop them from speaking a simple language.”
Every morning, before prisoners are let out for airing, searches are conducted in the cells. The searches are now mandatory in light of the increase in drones dropping off contraband at the Maximum Security Prison (MSP) at night.
Videos of items being smuggled into the prison using drones were even posted on social media by inmates.
Admitting that criminals have become very innovative with technology, Ramoutar said they have been trying to stop the illegal drop-offs.
“I suppose some of the items are perhaps beating us and getting in because the drones keep coming. We are countering that by having daily searches before inmates are let out.”
Some of the searches have led to cigarettes, cellphones, and marijuana valued at “thousands of dollars” being seized. Ramoutar said no illegal guns or cocaine were found.
“Soon the ability of the drones to make those drops will be a thing of the past,” he added.
Contrabands are also smuggled into the prison through the traditional channels.
The marijuana and cigarettes are sold to inmates. He said if the demand is high and the supply is low, inmates can pay $50 for one cigarette and $100 for a joint.
Ramoutar said the seizures have dwindled compared to what was confiscated in the past.
“We got about a dozen cellphones, some chargers, weed, and cigarettes in the last two years.”
The MSP houses high-profile prisoners such as Rajaee Ali, Devaughn Cummings, Ishmael Ali, Ricardo Stewart, Earl Richards, Gareth Wiseman, Hamid Ali, Kevin Parkinson, Leston Gonzales, and Roget Boucher.
In 2020, these men were accused of murdering senior attorney and former independent senator Dana Seethahal and committed to stand trial.
Seethahal was gunned down in 2014. Ten years later, the men are yet to face trial.
‘Prisons Officers’ Association helping to fight administration’
Under his leadership, Ramoutar said one prison officer was assassinated.
Last year, gunmen attacked Deputy Commissioner of Prisons Sherwin Bruce.
Although Bruce escaped, his driver was shot twice. However, close to 30 officers have been killed over the last 34 years.
On the other hand, Ramoutar said prison officers get help from the Prisons Officers’ Association to fight the administration.
Having worked for six years in the association as second vice president, Ramoutar said he knows all the dynamics.
In recent times, Ramoutar said, the association attacked him, and “anyone listening to their arguments can know it’s a pushback.”
The association, he said, refused to buy into his vision.
Ramoutar said he would go all out to assist officers who are without resources. “So maybe if I have my way, the association would become null and void because I am addressing all the issues of officers. So for them to be relevant, they must come out on bacchanal things.”
Asked if he took a hard-line approach to his officers or was too harsh on his men, Ramoutar replied, “I don’t think I was harsh enough.”
‘Game changer’
As Ramoutar gets set to make his exit, he admitted to having bittersweet feelings.
In the 27 months he served as commissioner, what he considers a short stint, Ramoutar said the rehabilitation of inmates was his focal point.
Ramoutar wished he had more time to “iron out those kinks in the service. I will miss walking among the inmates who call me father. At times, it was difficult.”
He referred to himself as a “game changer” for winning over the hearts and minds of seasoned criminals, some of whom are on death row and remand.
Ramoutar said he allowed prisoners to have picnic-style visits with their spouses and children three times a year. He took a risk by allowing families of inmates to bring home-cooked meals into the prison where they could sit and have lunch together. It created a bond between the inmates and their loved ones.
“The inmates have been so appreciative of that. It has positively changed the prisoners’ behaviour. We have been able to manage the prison more easily with just words of motivation and inspiration. You have to understand how human beings think and behave. The prison service can only function smoothly with the cooperation of the inmates.”
Ramoutar, who spoke about his achievements and hurdles in managing the country’s prisons with its endless problems, said they also planted seeds of betterment and spirituality in the inmates’ minds.
“And it is working. The methods are not new, but I am placing more focus on it.”
He said there has also been a high demand for programmes by prisoners that can assist with leniency in their court matters.
“The feedback from the prison population has been glorifying. It tells me I am doing something right. I receive tremendous love from the inmates, and I return that love to them professionally.”
Through training, spiritual development, and mediation, Ramoutar said his officers have been treating and healing the inmates.
“Many of them are hard-working and dedicated officers.”
However, he said the downfall of some officers was that they expect too much from prisoners. “We give the inmates a yardstick parallel to ourselves.”
He said the prison has been evolving with modern management and critical thinkers.
“We are strengthening the image of the service, and it is here to stay. I think I have made the prison an attractive place to work.”
When the prison advertised for recruits last year, Ramoutar said he was shocked that over 12,000 people had applied for the 300 positions available.
The majority of the applicants were women, “many of whom had university degrees. The applications surpassed our expectations.”
He said if people did not feel safe working in prison, they would not have applied.
As he winds down his last days, Ramoutar said he has achieved his mission while sitting at the helm of the prison.
Winning litigation
Earlier this month, Ramoutar won another round of litigation against the Public Service Commission (PSC) over the filling of senior vacancies in the service.
In the recent judgment, High Court Judge Nadia Kangaloo upheld Ramoutar’s lawsuit in which he challenged a decision by the PSC to “skip ranks” by seeking to fill the position of deputy commissioner without first addressing vacancies at the lower ranks of the senior superintendent and assistant commissioner.
Ramoutar, who has been acting in a position four times higher than his substantive rank of superintendent for more than two years, claimed the PSC breached an established prison service promotion policy and practice and its regulations.
In 2021, Ramoutar filed a lawsuit against the PSC over its move to introduce a competency-based interview after he topped the list of candidates for promotion to the rank of senior superintendent based on criteria set in 2014 and was awaiting retroactive promotion.
When the case was first filed, Ramoutar obtained an injunction blocking the PSC from filling permanent vacancies pending the outcome. However, the PSC was still permitted to make acting appointments and appointed Ramoutar to act in the top post following the retirement of former prisons commissioner Dennis Pulchan in early 2022.
Having fulfilled his duties, Ramoutar is ready to retire, spend time with his family, and enjoy his hobbies of fishing and hunting.
On his successor, Ramoutar said, “The Public Service Commission will decide who is the next Prisons Commissioner.”
Of the three deputy commissioners, Ramoutar said two “are earmarked for the position.”
Prison statistics in T&T
Total prison population: 3,059
Males-2,953
Females-106
Maximum Security Prison: 1,663
Port-of-Spain-441
Carrera Convict Prison-185
Youth Transformation and Rehabilitation Centre (YTRC)-41
YTRC female-2
Inmates:
Remanded-1,884
Convicted-1,175
Death Row (condemned)-35
Inmates charged:
Murder-1,522
Armed robbery-167
Robbery with violence-130
Robbery with aggravation-35
Kidnapping-31
Gordon: We are happy to see him go
On Friday, president of the association, Gerard Gordon, said they do not support officers who are charged and found guilty of trafficking.
Gordon said all prisons have issues with contraband.
“I am at my wit’s end when I have the head of the department who would want to give the impression that this is something so special that is happening.”
He said senior prison staff are not subjected to searches upon entering the nation’s prisons.
“Mr Ramoutar does not subject himself to a search when he is entering the Government’s prison. So no senior staff member does anything bad?”
He said the association takes the issue of contraband very seriously.
Gordon said the association has many issues with Ramoutar.
“And we are happy to see him leave. He has done nothing but frustrate, undermine, abuse, castigate, and separate officers. And one only has to take a cursory glance at the matters we have won in court against the office of the commissioner of prisons while he has been at the helm, based on the decisions he made.”
