Cabinet has approved the drafting instructions for legislative amendments to various sections of the Corrections Act, 1985 and the Correctional Institutional (Adult Correctional Centre) Rule, 1991.
These will address the specific issue of prohibited items in Jamaica’s correctional institutions that allow for unauthorised communication outside the facility.
This was stated by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Senator Hon. Matthew Samuda, during his contribution to the 2021/22 State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday.
“This isn’t because of songs being made; this is directly because it is a matter of life and death. If we do not get the phones out, we cannot curtail and stop the running of gangs behind our facilities,” he noted.
Senator Samuda said the first phase of the amendment is intended to provide stronger legislative support to security arrangements and controls within the correctional centres while facilitating tighter control of prohibited articles being transported in and out of the centres.
