Caption: President of the Prison Officers Association Gerard Gordon
- Urgent Call for Reform: Prison Officers’ Association (POA) President Gerard Gordon is urging the government to treat the resourcing and reform of the Prison Service as an “urgent national security priority.”
- Misaligned Resources: Despite a $200 million allocation for reform projects between 2020 and 2025, prison officers still lack basic necessities, having not received officially issued uniforms since 2018.
- Three Pillars for Change: Gordon highlighted three critical areas needing immediate state attention: officers’ welfare, infrastructure modernisation, and meaningful rehabilitation programmes to prevent reoffending.
By Alicia Chamely
“The question is not whether the country can afford to properly resource the Prison Service, the question is can it afford not to.”
Speaking with AZP News on Tuesday, President of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) Gerard Gordon called on the government to treat the resourcing and the reform of the Prison Service as an “urgent national security priority.”
Gordon, who had earlier penned a passionate plea to the state on the POA’s Facebook page, said the Prison Service played a key role in crime reduction efforts and the protection of society.
However, he said, these “expectations do not align with reality,” given the outdated resources and prison systems.
Gordon said despite having more than $200 million allocated towards reform projects between 2020 and 2025, allocation does not mean the money was spent, nor does it mean the money was spent where it would be most beneficial.
He said, “The question, therefore, is not simply whether money is being spent. The question is whether we are spending enough, spending it strategically, and building the system Trinidad and Tobago actually needs.”
Gordon addressed three critical issues he believed needed to be addressed by the government in order to strengthen the prison system: officers’ welfare, updating infrastructure, and reforming the prison’s role in rehabilitation and future crime prevention.
Giving an example of prison officers’ basic needs not being met despite monies being allocated to the system, he said officers had not received officially issued uniforms since 2018, noting officers either made their own or paid out of pocket for replacement uniforms.
Saying prison officers were “expected to maintain order in some of the most challenging environments in the country,” he said officers were human and not an “unlimited resource.”
Gordon said prison officers were a “critical component of the national security architecture.”
He said that part of the POA’s pleas were for “adequate staffing, equipment, training, healthcare, protective equipment, modern communication systems, reliable transportation, appropriate accommodation, and working environments that allow them to perform their duties safely.”
Gordon added, “When we fail the Prison Officer, we weaken the prison. When we weaken the prison, we weaken the justice system. And when we weaken the justice system, we weaken public safety.”
Discussing the need for investment in infrastructure, Gordon said the outdated infrastructure of the prisons themselves needed to be addressed.
He said this included proper maintenance, pointing out a locking system problem at one prison that had been mended through the archaic use of chains and padlocks. He further pointed out Monday’s blackout at the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre, where there were no functioning generators.
Gordon stated that in terms of contraband entering the prisons, criminal networks had become increasingly advanced, and unfortunately, the “response remains tied to infrastructure and systems designed for another era.”
He said, “We cannot expect Prison Officers to confront twenty-first-century criminal threats with twentieth-century infrastructure. If criminals can adapt faster than the State, the State will eventually lose the advantage.”
“That is why the Prison Officers’ Association continues to call for investment in modern security architecture, intelligence-led operations, appropriate technology, improved perimeter security, body-worn cameras, modern surveillance systems, and infrastructure designed around contemporary correctional standards,” he said.
Gordon said a pivotal part of prison reform must be rehabilitation efforts.
He noted that in cases of remand, persons awaiting trial—who have been found neither innocent nor guilty—do not just “fall into a magical vortex.”
Gordon said when you leave people to languish in remand or custody, you cannot expect them to return to society as exemplar citizens without any rehabilitation.
He said, “The Prison Service should not simply be a place where people are locked away. The purpose of incarceration must ultimately include the protection of society. That means custody must be safe and secure, but it must also provide meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation.”
Gordon said the POA was advocating for various support initiatives, work training and preparation for employment, substance abuse programmes, and education programmes for prisoners.
He said these were vital tools to prevent reoffending and to stop prisoners from continuing their involvement with the criminal element, both in and out of the prison system.
Saying these were tools for crime prevention, he said, “If a person leaves prison with the same attitudes, same vulnerabilities, same criminal associations, and same lack of opportunity that existed when they entered, society has not been protected.”
“We have simply postponed the problem,” he added.
Gordon said, “The Prison Officers’ Association has consistently advocated for meaningful prison reform.”
“That reform must include modern facilities, improved security infrastructure, appropriate staffing levels, proper officer development, better healthcare, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, and a justice system capable of moving cases through the courts in a timely manner.”
“The long-standing problems associated with remand cannot be solved by simply building more cells.”
“Nor can crime be solved by simply putting more people behind bars.”
“We need a modern correctional system that forms part of a modern criminal justice strategy.”
Gordon said without strengthening the Prison Service, the state would continue to sabotage its own security.
Calling for changes, he said, “It is time to stop treating the Prison Service as the place where the criminal justice system sends its problems.”
“It is time to recognise the Prison Service for what it truly is: one of the country’s front lines in the fight to protect society,” Gordon said.
