The former Her Majesty’s Prison, now the Bahamas Department of Corrections [BDOC] was built in 1952. A needs assessment facilitated by the American Correction Association is being conducted at the BDOC.
Minister of National Security, the Hon. Wayne Munroe said, “the resident of a correctional facility require care, the require retraining and they require above all humanity and human treatment. If they do not get that, if they’re dehumanized in the institution, they would be released to the public dehumanized. And so its very important that we get this right. This administration is prepared to do what is necessary to get this right as it improves the public safety of person’s in this community.”
The minister went on saying, “we’ve had recently a number of persons who’ve been electronically monitored having been released from the correctional facility on bail, either the subject of further offences or themselves the subject of violence. All of this is a part of what we wish to address. The Davis-Cooper administration’s approach is holistic. We seek to intervene in the lives of young citizens before they get on a criminal path. If they get on a criminal path we intend to apprehend them, bring them before the courts, call them to account and for those who are sent to the correctional institutions, we intend to provide them services, care and education to readjust the way that they think.”
On The Bahamas’ intention to receive accreditation from her organization, Dr. Elizabeth Gondoles, Senior Director of the American Correctional Association said, “whether you achieve accreditation or not, whether a country that starts its journey, it can do nothing but assist the human rights of individuals and it can help the staff professionalize themselves. It can help the staff to want to go to work everyday in a clean, healthy, safe environment. It will help a resident to feel safe in a facility that they’re trying to change their lives around, which we should help. That is part of an individual human rights that we have to respect.”
