The prison population in Barbados has dropped significantly since the move to the newer Dodds Prison in 2007.
Prior to that, the inmates numbers hovered around 1 187 at the historic HMP at Glendairy which was subsequently burnt during rioting before a makeshift prison was created at Harrison Point. However, today there are around 769 inmates (743 males and 26 females) at Dodds in St Philip which has a capacity for 1 250. There are 341 uniform staff and 38 civilians.
Acting Superintendent Decarlo Payne, addressing the IMPACT Justice Symposium on Prison Reform in the Caribbean in his Country Report On Prison Conditions And Proposed Reform, yesterday shared the statistics and said the re-incarceration rate at the prison is low.
However, he could not give information on recidivism rates which, he said, was managed at the national level and included the criminal justice agencies and those who go through the court system. (AC)
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