The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL
Tribune Staff Reporter
jrussell@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Shanta Knowles said officials are working on a new plan for transporting inmates after a rush-hour crash involving a police prison bus left a 21-year-old man hospitalised at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge last month.

The collision intensified criticism of the long-standing practice of moving prisoners through peak traffic, a concern previously raised by The Tribune. In an October editorial, this newspaper described the practice as “an inconvenience to other road users” and “dangerous in the extreme, since the ‘Prison Bus’ does not abide by traffic lights, let alone any of the rules of the road.”

Speaking to reporters during the New Year’s Day Junkanoo parade, Commissioner Knowles said she is coordinating closely with Prison Commissioner Doan Cleare to prevent a repeat of the incident.

“Commissioner Cleare and I communicate always,” she said. “We hope that we would get this message clear to members of the public, please, we need to get the inmates back into the compound, but of course, also to our officers who are operating these vehicles.

“We’re trying to work out a plan where we can get these inmates safely back into the prison compound without causing distress to members of the public.”

The crash occurred during evening traffic near the bridge when a civilian vehicle collided with the bus transporting inmates. At the time, The Tribune reported that two prisoners and two police officers were taken to the hospital. The injured motorist, a 21-year-old man, was also hospitalised.

In a separate interview with Eyewitness News, Commissioner Cleare said the inmates injured in the collision have since been returned to prison. He added that officials plan to meet shortly to discuss changes to how prisoners are transported to and from court.

The issue has also drawn the attention of Wayne Munroe, who last month said he instructed law enforcement agencies to avoid inmate transports during rush-hour traffic where possible.

“I’ve expressed to them that I would prefer they do that outside of rush hours, and that they arrange the security provisions to do it if they can,” he said, adding that his understanding was that inmate transports are usually conducted outside peak traffic periods.

The government has not yet announced when any revised transport protocol would take effect.