Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander says 800 prison officers will be recruited into the Prison Service between this year and 2027 as the Government moves to address concerns over an exodus of officers and persistent manpower shortages.Alexander was responding to questions from the Express following concerns raised by Prison Officers’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago (POATT) president Gerard Gordon, who said the Prison Service was struggling to retain officers, with attrition continuing to outpace recruitment as long-standing issues affecting prison officers remained unresolved.
EXODUS: Gerard Gordon
Gordon said the service was losing more officers than it was able to recruit, despite discussions about bringing in 500 new prison officers.According to Gordon, the attrition rate has been significant since 2018 and 2019, with more than 100 officers leaving the service annually.“When I came in as president in 2023, our membership was 2,900-plus. Our membership now is closer to 2,500 officers. So in three years we have lost about 400 members,” he said.Alexander told the Express that this issue, along with all other concerns raised by the Association, would be addressed, while reiterating that all the problems could not be solved overnight.He said some 500 new recruits will undergo orientation exercises in July and August, with training scheduled to commence in September.The minister said another 300 officers will be recruited early next year.“This Government has begun to fix the issues; we are fixing the attrition rate by recruiting 800 prison officers starting on the 27th of this month with 500 coming on board and another 300 in the new year. I want to give the assurance that all the concerns of prisons officers past and present will be addressed. This is the first time in a long time they have a minister who cares and understands and a Prime Minister who has given instructions to clean up the mess left by the PNM,” said Alexander.The minister said when he entered office last year, he encountered a security system in disarray, with human resources under strain and the State’s security apparatus left wanting.“With the lack of attention given to the Prison Service for the past ten years it is clear as day to me that the People’s National Movement (PNM) was never interested in dealing with crime,” he said.Alexander said the Government understands the correlation between the Prison Service, the judicial system and the effective delivery of justice, as well as the critical role the service plays in the rehabilitation of inmates.“The institution responsible for rehabilitation of prisoners was left without manpower, resources, equipment, and a well-rounded structure to treat inmates. Instead, contracts were given out which resulted in incomplete arrangements for the alarm system, cameras and lighting,” he said.Alexander also noted that law enforcement agencies were being strengthened across the board, with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) expected to recruit hundreds of officers.He said since last year, 800 Special Reserve Police officers (SRPs) have also been absorbed into the Police Service.In addition to the attrition rate, Gordon had also raised others issues, among which was prison officers lack of access to firearms as that matter had been before the courts for almost a decade.Gordon said the association was not advocating for prison officers to automatically be issued firearms but wanted officers who met the required criteria to be able to successfully apply for firearm users’ licences.He said officers were often denied licences on the basis that there was no direct threat to their lives or that they did not transport large sums of cash. However, he argued that such considerations failed to account for the risks associated with their profession and the trauma experienced by officers following the deaths of their colleagues.The POATT president also raised concerns about the condition of prison facilities and the lack of resources available to officers.He referred to the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre, which was purchased in 2011 for approximately $235 million and subsequently underwent additional works. Gordon said the facility was still not operating at a level that met international standards for correctional institutions.He also described long-standing issues at the Maximum Security Prison, including deteriorating infrastructure, the absence of a generator, malfunctioning gates and inadequate lighting.
