Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica

Last updated

The Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica (DCS) is a department of the Ministry of National Security of Jamaica, [1] headquartered in Kingston. [2] The department operates prisons and jails in Jamaica. The current[ when? ] Commissioner of Corrections is Brigadier Radgh Mason. [3]

Contents

Operations

A male inmate who has served one year in prison and has no more than nine months left in his sentence may apply to stay in the Howard Hostel in Kingston; the inmate may work during the day, but he must stay in the hostel from 7 PM to 7 AM. Hostel services are not available for female inmates. [4]

In Jamaica juvenile facilities house children from ages 12 to 17. [4]

Prisons

There is a total of eleven facilities on the island. Due to sentencing laws, the majority of inmates are held at the two maximum security facilities. [5] These facilities are St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre and Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre. While the lower security facilities are below capacity, these two facilities regularly hold high above their maximum capacity.

The high population in some of the facilities and lack of funding has led to substandard living conditions. Many of the inmates are held in cells that are infested with fleas, lice, and cockroaches. [6] As many of these cells are only designed to hold one or two individuals, any additional inmates are forced to sleep on the floor. They are often only allowed out of their cells twice a day to visit the washroom. [7] Despite an effort for reform, corruption in the prison system allows guards to abuse inmates, sometimes to the point of death.

In early 2017 the South Camp facility became the new women’s facility. The women were moved there from the aging Ft. Augusta facility. [8] The women’s facility faces many of the same issues of overcrowding, poor living conditions, and abuse that the other facilities do.

Jamaica has made great effort to improve the juvenile side of their corrections system. Their four juvenile facilities are run like schools. The children are offered education and vocational training that will give them more job opportunities as adults. Unlike the adult facilities, the youth are allowed to occasionally leave the facility with special permission. [9] Juvenile boys ages 12–17 are initially sent to St. Andrew Remand Centre. At the disposal of their court cases, they are sent to Hill Top Juvenile Correctional Centre or Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre, the two residential prisons for boys. All juvenile females ages 12–17 are sent to the Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Department of Correction</span> State government agency in Indiana

The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) operates state prisons in Indiana. It has its headquarters in Indianapolis. As of 2019, the Indiana Department of Correction housed 27,140 adult Inmates, 388 juvenile Inmates, employed 5,937 State Employed Staff, and 1,718 Contracted Staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Dale Youth Detention Centre</span> Australian juvenile detention centre

The Don Dale Youth Detention Centre is a facility for juvenile detention in the Northern Territory, Australia, located in Berrimah, east of Darwin. It is a detention centre for male and female juvenile delinquents. The facility is named after Don Dale, a former Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1983 to 1989 and one-time Minister for Correctional Services.

Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison, formerly Risdon Women's Prison, an Australian minimum to maximum security prison for females, is located in Risdon Vale, Tasmania. The facility is operated by the Tasmanian Prison Service, an agency of the Department of Justice of the Government of Tasmania. The facility accepts felons convicted under Tasmanian and/or Commonwealth legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Bureau of Prisons</span> U.S. federal law enforcement agency

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for all federal prisons and provides for the care, custody, and control of federal prisoners.

Prison rape commonly refers to the rape of inmates in prison by other inmates or prison staff. In 2001, Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 4.3 million inmates had been raped while incarcerated in the United States. A United States Department of Justice report, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, states that "In 2011–12, an estimated 4.0% of state and federal prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility, if less than 12 months." However, advocates dispute the accuracy of the numbers, saying they seem to under-report the real numbers of sexual assaults in prison, especially among juveniles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation</span> Law enforcement agency in California, US

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacramento.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Division of Juvenile Justice</span> Law enforcement agency in California, USA

The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), was a division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that provided education, training, and treatment services for California's most serious youth offenders, until its closure in 2023. These youths were committed by the juvenile and criminal courts to DJJ's eleven correctional facilities, four conservation camps and two residential drug treatment programs. The DJJ provided services to juvenile offenders, ranging in age from twelve to 25, in facilities and on parole, and worked closely with law enforcement, the courts, district attorneys, public defenders, probation offices and other public and private agencies involved with the problems of youth. The DJJ underwent reorganization as required by a court agreement and the California State Legislature after widespread criticisms of conditions at its youth prisons. The agency's headquarters were in Sacramento, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornell Companies</span>

Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired by the GEO Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Department of Correction</span> Government agency in Tennessee, United States

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government responsible for the oversight of more than 20,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's fourteen prisons, three of which are privately managed by CoreCivic. The department is headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Correction, who is currently Frank Strada. TDOC facilities' medical and mental health services are provided by Corizon. Juvenile offenders not sentenced as adults are supervised by the independent Tennessee Department of Children's Services, while inmates granted parole or sentenced to probation are overseen by the Department of Correction (TDOC)/Department of Parole. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association. The department has its headquarters on the sixth floor of the Rachel Jackson Building in Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GEO Group</span> American institutional facilities company

The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's facilities include immigration detention centers, minimum security detention centers, and mental-health and residential-treatment facilities. It also operates government-owned facilities pursuant to management contracts. As of December 31, 2021, the company managed and/or owned 86,000 beds at 106 facilities. In 2019, agencies of the federal government of the United States generated 53% of the company's revenues. Up until 2021 the company was designated as a real estate investment trust, at which time the board of directors elected to reclassify as a C corporation under the stated goal of reducing the company's debt.

The Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility was a minimum, medium, and maximum state juvenile facility of the Indiana Department of Correction. It was located on Girls School Road, 8 miles (13 km) west of downtown Indianapolis. The facility housed 185 female inmates ranging in age from twelve years to twenty-one years. The facility was originally established in 1907 as an all-girls school and was known for most of its history as the Indiana Girls School. In 2006, juvenile male offenders were assigned to the facility as well. In late 2007 all male offenders were transferred to other state facilities and the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility reverted to being an all female facility. In 2009 the girls were moved to the Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility, and the former IJCF became the current location of the Indiana Women's Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison for Women (Kingston, Ontario)</span> Prison in Ontario, Canada

The Prison For Women, located in Kingston, Ontario, was a Correctional Service of Canada prison for women that functioned at a maximum security level from 1934 to 2000. Known for its controversial legacy and significance as Canada's only federal-level penitentiary for women until 2000, the institution housed some of Canada’s most serious female offenders until its decommissioning following years of criticism and scrutiny over inmate treatment. The prison, designed in Neoclassical style by Henry H. Horsey, later became a federal heritage site. Throughout its history, P4W faced ongoing controversies, including inmate abuse, racial discrimination, unethical experiments, and a notorious 1994 riot that led to the influential Arbour Report, eventually prompting significant reforms in the Canadian correctional system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Department of Corrections</span> Wisconsin state government department

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WIDOC) is an administrative department in the executive branch of the state of Wisconsin responsible for corrections in Wisconsin, including state prisons and community supervision. The secretary is a cabinet member appointed by the governor of Wisconsin and confirmed by the Wisconsin Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections</span> State law enforcement agency of Louisiana

The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the incarceration of inmates and management of facilities at state prisons within the state of Louisiana. The agency is headquartered in Baton Rouge. The agency comprises two major areas: Public Safety Services and Corrections Services. The secretary, who is appointed by the governor of Louisiana, serves as the department's chief executive officer. The Corrections Services deputy secretary, undersecretary, and assistant secretaries for the Office of Adult Services and the Office of Youth Development report directly to the secretary. Headquarters administration consists of centralized divisions that support the management and operations of the adult and juvenile institutions, adult and juvenile probation and parole district offices, and all other services provided by the department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison</span> Facility where people are kept as punishment for a crime

A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, remand center, hoosegow, and slammer, is a facility where people are imprisoned against their will under the authority of the state, generally as punishment for various crimes. Authorities most commonly use prisons within a criminal-justice system: people charged with crimes may be imprisoned until their trial; those who have pled or been found guilty of crimes at trial may be sentenced to a specified period of imprisonment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowell Correctional Institution</span> Prison in Florida, United States

Lowell Correctional Institution is a women's prison in unincorporated Marion County, Florida, north of Ocala, in the unincorporated area of Lowell. A part of the Florida Department of Corrections, it serves as the primary prison for women in the state. Almost 3,000 women are incarcerated in the complex, which includes the Lowell Annex. As of 2015 2,696 women are in the main Lowell CI, making it the largest prison for women in the United States; its prison population became larger than that of the Central California Women's Facility that year.

Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre, formerly Fort Augusta Prison, is Jamaica's only prison for women. It was built to accommodate 250 female inmates but has held over 280 on occasions. It has been known to run short of food. It is operated by the Department of Correctional Services for the Ministry of National Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Department of Children's Services</span> Government agency in Tennessee, United States

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services (TDCS) is a state agency of Tennessee that operates services for children and youth. It is currently headquartered on the tenth floor of the UBS Tower in Nashville. The current commissioner is Margie Quin, who assumed office on September 1, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penal system of Hong Kong</span>

The penal system of Hong Kong, with its colonial tradition, is responsible for carrying out criminal penalties and the supervision and rehabilitation of former prisoners.

References

  1. ↑ "Overview". Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  2. ↑ "Home". Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica. Retrieved 2 October 2010. The Head Office is located at: 5-7 King Street, Kingston, Jamaica W.I.
  3. ↑ "The Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica (DCS) :. Official Website".
  4. 1 2 "PROGRAMS AND SERVICES (INCLUSIVE OF REHABILITATION)". Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  5. ↑ Davidson, V. (January 16, 2017). "Government improving prison conditions, says Montague" . Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  6. ↑ Henríquez, J.; Robinson, T.; González, F.; Shelton, D.; Gil, R. E.; Ortiz, R. M.; Antoine, R. B. (August 10, 2012). "HUMAN RIGHTS" . Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ Morris, Patrice K. (2008). "Imprisoned in Jamaica". International Criminal Justice Review. 18 (4): 435–454. doi:10.1177/1057567708325706. ISSN   1057-5677. S2CID   143858226.
  8. ↑ Serju, C. (March 2, 2017). "Female inmates moved from Fort Augusto to South Camp" . Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Juvenile Correctional Centres". Department of Correctional Services. January 1, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ Brown, Ingrid (28 May 2006). "Kids under 12 targeted as criminal recruits". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.