The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A SPIKE in contraband smuggling, a sharp rise in inmate admissions, an increase in reports of alleged misconduct by prison officers and an emerging trend of civilians throwing contraband over the prison’s perimeter walls are matters highlighted in the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services 2023 annual report, which was tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Suspected packages of marijuana were the most smuggled contraband, but officers also seized cell phones, phone charges, cigarettes, rizla rolling papers, grabba leaves, makeshift “jookers” and sim cards.

The prison addressed the issue by increasing patrols and searches.

Police took correction officers into custody for trafficking drugs and cell phones and, in at least one instance, having sex with a woman with a mental disorder.

The department’s Internal Affairs Unit sent 244 charges against 106 officers to the disciplinary tribunal. The top charge was disobeying lawful orders. Absence without leave and insubordination were among the other charges.

The report noted that the prison has seen a significant increase in admissions over a three-year period, from 1912 in 2021 to 2876 in 2023.

The annual incarceration cost per inmate is 20,464.71: $1705.39 monthly and $56.07 daily. 

Sentenced admissions accounted for 57 percent of the prison’s population, with the others remanded. 

Eighty percent of people are first-time offenders, and 583 are recidivists.

Bahamians made up 64 percent of the department’s population. There were also 629 Haitians, 200 Cubans, 62 Jamaicans and 43 Chinese.