Prisons officers have not received uniforms to carry out their official duties at the nation’s prions for the past two years. In the absence of uniforms, prisons officers have no recourse but to wear civilian clothing.
The Prison Officers Association (POA) is now calling for an investigation into the procurement practices for these uniforms, said POA general secretary Gerard Gordon on Friday.
Speaking to the Sunday Guardian, Gordon said their main concern was that even with the addition of a procurement department, they found themselves dealing with “an undisclosed supplier or suppliers, who from our information their core business is not uniform production.”
He said this was “highly suspect and inexcusable.”
“What is very disturbing is that money has been spent for uniforms and we’re going on two years without uniforms. The association would like a proper investigation how a fiasco like this was allowed to happen.”
He said an investigation must be conducted to determine who awarded the contracts, their financial status, what was their core business, how the contracts were awarded, the amount of money paid out so far, and why the prisons officers hadn’t received their uniforms.
Gordon said part of the problem was that the uniforms were stranded in China, and this also called into question the quality of the uniforms the T&T Prisons Service will receive.
He said years ago, skilled inmates made prison uniforms for officers and they were also manufactured locally.
Gordon said the new Prisons Commissioner, Sterling Stewart, was trying to deal with the situation by having some uniforms made, but cloth still needed to be ordered.
He emphasised that the association had no beef with Stewart as he came in and met the situation.
Gordon said new uniforms should be made with modern materials that can repel bacteria and diseases that the officers sometimes brought home with them.
He said although they were forced to wear civilian clothing to perform their official duties, they still adhered to a standard of dress—no printed or round-necked jerseys, shirts must look neat and clean and no “loud” sneakers.
He said “soft” pants, short-sleeved shirts and polos without prints were permissible.
Gordon said items such as the prisons officer’s cap or beret were called “condemn and replace,” and had to be returned before issuing replacements.
When asked if prisons officers wearing civilian clothes made it easier for prisoners to blend in during a jail break, he said that it was impossible and would not happen.
Gordon explained that there was only a small corps of officers, each batch might contain 20 to 30 officers.
He said they knew one another and were still a close-knit organisation and every officer must have his prison identification on him at all times.
Ramadhar: We will work to find a solution to the problem
When Justice Minister Prakash Ramadhar was contacted yesterday for his comment on the uniform shortage, he said: “The welfare of the prisons and prisons officers are extremely important to me, and I will make inquiries as to what is really happening in relation to that issue.
“They have my commitment that whatever action needs to be taken to rectifying specifically what is affecting them will be taken.
“This will be done working absolutely in accord with the Commissioner of Prisons and his team to find a solution to any difficulty that may exist.”
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