On the issue of reducing crime and violence, particularly gun crime, banditry, gang activity, and street level thuggery, when we discuss the stringent measures put into force in places like Jamaica, where there are mandatory sentences for gun crimes, and Trinidad, where states of emergency have been used many times to widen police powers, let us also step back and examine the state of crime and violence in those societies overall and learn perhaps, not just from what they did, but from what they could have done differently.

For all the force, stringency and power of the law applied in these places for years and years under different governments, what is the current state of crime and violence? Has it ever become manageable? Has it ever truly been drastically reduced?

There needs to be adequate attention placed on the other aspects of criminal justice at the same time. The one we refuse to seriously talk about is the prison system. Both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, like us, have colonial era structures serving as prisons, underfunded and understaffed rehabilitation initiatives, and a myriad of other severe challenges preventing them from having a more effective correctional system and not just prisons. Recidivism (repeat offending) is a major problem.

Guyana is the only example in region I can think of where they have taken a different approach to corrections.

Unlike many of its regional neighbors, Guyana has made substantial, highly documented strides in transforming its prison system, achieving the lowest recidivism rate in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at just 14%. Backed by an unprecedented five-year government investment exceeding $28 billion (GYD), the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) is actively replacing its punitive colonial-era framework with a modern, human rights-centered correctional model.

Guyana currently operates highly active, highly structured rehabilitation initiatives that are yielding tangibly successful outcomes compared to the rest of the region. Behavioral initiatives, such as multi-week anger management and cognitive readjustment programs, are systematically utilized at facilities like the Timehri Prison to target root behavioral triggers.

Guyana has launched a national rollout of Restorative Justice Centres and a proactive “prison avoidance system” designed to utilize alternative sentencing and reduce pre-trial detention.

To reduce recruitment of inmates into hardened criminal networks, the new physical designs at Lusignan and New Amsterdam are specifically engineered to break apart traditional command structures by strictly isolating high-risk networks from low-risk, reforming inmates.

The Guyana Prison Service (GPS) has radically modernized its prison officer training, shifting from an outdated, punitive guard model to a highly professionalized, regional benchmark in “Corrections Leadership.” By treating prison staff as educators and mental health first responders rather than mere turnkeys, Guyana has directly fueled its record-low 14% national recidivism rate.

Whatever strategy that we employ, we cannot merely react to violence with more powerful police and longer sentences alone. There needs to be a comprehensive overhaul of the entire system to achieve an effective correctional system, not just a prison. The problem is it costs money. But are our leaders saying the money isn’t worth it?

For example, 28 billion GYD is 362 million XCD. Guyana’s population is roughly 8x the size of Antigua and Barbuda’s. So let’s divide that 362 million XCD by 8 gives you roughly 45 million XCD for it to be equivalent to Antigua and Barbuda’s population size.

Break that out over a 6 year period for example, and it would be $7.5 million XCD a year for 6 years to progressively redevelop the correctional system. Why is this not achievable for us? How much of our money is being spent on dredging up at Barnacle Point so the PM can name a new beach after his pickney???

But we can’t find funds to invest annually in measures that will actually reduce crime? What is stopping us? If we want to see the results, we have to start today. Had we done this in 2016 or 2018 or 2020 or 2022, we would be seeing the results today. Lower reoffending (recidivism). Less threats on our streets.

But it’s like you can’t have serious policy conversations with our leaders. Conversations they should have with the public based on research and best practice and expert insight turn into rum shop radio talk.

The prison / correctional system is one part. Let’s not even get started on reforms necessary to:

B. The police – so they can better combat crime

C. Our social services – so they can have a greater impact among the boys who become criminals before they do

D. The courts – so they can dispense with matters more swiftly and cases don’t take years to be tried

But we don’t talk about these issues.

All of these systems are broken and need urgent reform. But the leaders of this country can’t be bothered. They don’t want the effort or the work. So they go for the low hanging fruit, quicker and easier.

John Popeshead

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: LETTER: Crime Strategy Bound to Fail; Let's Follow Guyana's Example Instead.