… Murder listed as the most frequent crime for which inmates were arrested
Approximately 21 per cent of inmates across Guyana’s five prison locations have access to cellphones, while some 2.1 per cent of prisoners have a computer and internet available to them in these same penitentiaries.
This is according to “A Study of Inmates in Guyana” 2018 report conducted by representatives of the the Center for Latin American Studies on Crime and Violence (CELIV), UNTREF, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).
Among other things, it was disclosed that 88 per cent of the prisoners have access to television, and 85 per cent have the benefits of books.
“…the questionnaire includes a battery of questions about whether inmates had access to different types of entertainment. Findings on this topic are mixed. On the one hand, most inmates had access to television (88.5 per cent) and books (85.7 per cent). On the other hand, only 2.1 per cent of the inmate reported having access to a PC or the Internet, and [21.4 per cent] to a cell phone,” the survey said.
The review was conducted anonymously among 748 prisoners attached to the Georgetown Prison, New Amsterdam Prison, Mazaruni Prison, Lusignan Prison, and the Timehri Prison.
Just this month, President David Granger had expressed worry over the quality of supervision and security in the prisons.
His concern came on the heels of new video evidence- recorded on cell phones- surfacing on social media displaying prisoners attached to the New Amsterdam Prison- who are on remanded for serious offences- imbibing and in possession of high priced liquor and narcotics.
Recidivism
The study also found that the two most frequent crimes for which the inmates were arrested are ‘intentional homicide’ or murder (34.9 per cent) and ‘drug possession or drug dealing’ (21.3 per cent).
