Prison phone threat renews pressure for secure Jamaican correctional facilities

A threatening phone call allegedly made from inside a Jamaican prison has sharpened calls for urgent reform of the country’s correctional system, with attorney Andrea White-Walters arguing that outdated facilities allow inmates to keep criminal links alive even while behind bars.

White-Walters said the inmate contacted her after she rebuked him in open court for disorderly behaviour. She said the caller made it clear he was in prison, not a police lock-up, and still claimed he could reach her. The experience, she said, reinforced her view that Jamaica needs correctional institutions built for security, rehabilitation and proper control of communication.

The warning comes as police in St. Andrew continue searching for Oshin Morris, also called “Chucky”, who Superintendent Mark Harris said is wanted in connection with gang violence in August Town. Two brothers were killed one week apart in the African Gardens section, and Harris said police believe the attacks were ordered by Morris. Singer Etana later posted that her relatives in August Town were being targeted.

White-Walters said Jamaica’s falling major-crime numbers, including reported declines of 20.2 per cent in major crimes and 22.5 per cent in murders so far this year, must be matched by prison reform. She pointed to concerns that inmates use illegal phones to direct gangs and arrange killings.

The 2021 amendments to the Corrections Act increased penalties for prohibited items in correctional facilities, with fines of up to $3 million or three years in prison for a first parish court conviction, and up to $5 million or five years for repeat offences. White-Walters said stronger laws alone will not solve the problem if the buildings remain unfit.

Attorney Sanjay Smith also backed the need for new facilities, saying overcrowded lock-ups and prisons pose health and humanitarian concerns, especially for detainees with disabilities or serious medical issues. He said some inmates cannot be properly accommodated under current conditions.

In 2022, the Government said land had been identified for a modern correctional facility projected to cost at least $80 billion, with Dr. Horace Chang saying the Jamaica Defence Force Engineering Division was involved in design work.