The Editor, Sir:

An integral arm of the Ministry of National Security is the Department of Correctional Services, which plays an important role in the criminal justice system. This department's core function involves both custodial and non-custodial programmes.

This is also the department within the Ministry of National Security with the boldest mission statement that pledges to "contribute to the safety and protection of society by keeping offenders secure and facilitating their rehabilitation and reintegration as law abiding citizens, while developing a professional and committed staff".

Dysfunctional mode

As residents here fight to secure safety daily, one wonders how much of this visionary objective has been achieved. As this important department slides at high speed into chaos and lodges into a dysfunctional mode, we watch helplessly as our prisons produce more certified and notorious degreed criminals in their field of child rape and murder, fraud, robbery and 'gangsterism'. At the same time these potential graduates of crime are supervised by many unconcerned, stressed-out correctional officers and staff.

If the fight against crime and violence is to be successful it will take more the 'five per cent reduction theory' proposal suggested by the head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Urgently needed, are simple leadership of our prison system and correctional services management.

Suggestions

Through effective leadership a quality improvement programme can:

1) Enhance correction staff cooperation,

2) Decrease tension or friction among inmates,

3) Increase staff satisfaction.

4) Demonstrate cost-effectiveness.

The old approaches existing in correctional services of simply aiming to meet standards and managers failing to listen, enable, support and facilitate new ideas are contributing to its failures. I am calling on Security Minister Col Trevor MacMillan to place major emphasis urgently on this department with nothing less than a total shift in management philosophy and practices. With a better prison system fighting and preventing crime in Jamaica can be successful.

Leadership within the prison system is at an all-time low as most of its staff and officers lack motivation resulting in poor quality performance. While the ministry of national security is searching for a new commissioner of correctional services, let's hope such a person will be one eager to remove the causes of the department's failure, so that its staff can do a better job with motivation and less effort.

The largest based 'customers' of the correctional services are prisoners. They must be recognised as important partners. These inmates face obstacles, but possess knowledge from which successful crime-fighting strategies can be formulated.

I am, etc.,

Dr RAYMOUTH NOTICE

mayornotice@hotmail.com

Bog Walk

St Catherine