Prison population peaked out at record 148 this year- Forbes
This startling revelation was made by Acting Superintendent of Prisons Mr Charles L. Forbes during the closing of the High Court assizes on July 24, 2013.
Mr Forbes explained that over the years there has been a steady increase of inmates at the HMP but it reached its highest in the history of the prison when it touched the 148 figure earlier this year.
He said the current figure is fluctuating between 130 and 140 as some persons were released on the count of bail and good behaviour, among others.
In presenting the statistics to the High Court, Mr Forbes said the prison presently has 12 inmates on 25 to life sentences, 34 serving 8 to 20 years, 26 on 2 to 7 years and 20 serving 1 to 18 months prison terms.
A breakdown by nationality for those convicted shows that 50 inmates are Virgin Islanders (BVIslanders) while 42 are expatriates. For those on remand by nationality VIslanders number 14 and expatriates 14.
For the juvenile population at HMP, there is one expatriate and two VIslanders.
A total of 6 inmates are awaiting trial.
The population of prisoners on remand show that the highest number (8) accounts for the offence of drugs, six have been accused of conspiracy, five are for possession or use of proceeds of criminal conduct while 3 have been incarcerated due to alleged burglary.
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13 Responses to “Prison population peaked out at record 148 this year- Forbes”
Tortola needs house arrest and more fines instead of jail tortola like to copy other countries ways of doing things why they can't copy dose 2 things but nah send ppl to jail this place gone turn up soon soon I hope all the ppl who feel that they can't brake the law don't end up in prison but oh sh1t I forget is last name running this place
its just a suggestion
Undoubtedly, there should and must be consequences for breaching the laws of the land. It not sufficient to just arrest, convict and lock up offenders. This is just treating the symptom, not the cause. Prevention is always the preferred method of action over treatment. It is a better course of action economically, socially, politically and culturally to address crime at the front end than at the back end.
Consequently, the BVI must explore the root cause(s) of the spiraling crime rate and resulting incarcerating rate. Is the cause the economy or unravelling of the social fabric? Regardless of the cause the BVI must invest the resources to find out and take the appropriate action to address the problem. It is going to take some serious societal and behavioral changes to turn things around. The problem is both important and urgent; urgent action is needed.
Moreover, it is a good sound bite to say lock them up and throw away the key. But the reality is that offenders will be released back into society. And if their behavior and attitude is the same as when they were locked ip, neither society nor the individual has benefitted. Offenders must be prepared for release back into society.
Yes, rehabilitating offenders takes money but society gets a big return on its investment. The offenders become contributing and productive members of society. So how should the BVI proceed in arresting this problem?
In the short- term, it should look at alternative sentencing for misdemeanors, especially for young offenders. Further, for the long- term, it should commission an ad hoc committee to explore the root causes of rising crime and incarceration and recommend solutions; government must be committed to implementing the solutions . Additionally, the ad hoc committee should be tasked with exploring and recommending ideas for a strong rehabilitation programme. Again the government has to commit to implementing the recommendations.