Minister Walwyn hopes a local can head HMP in next two years!
The ceremony was held at Maria’s by the Sea and saw a large turnout of potential recruits. It was said there are fourteen (14) openings at HMP.
Those positions include Prison Councillor, Principal Officers, Prison Officer 1 and 2 and Cooks. While the ministry is eager to have the positions filled, Hon, Walwyn underscored the importance of employing persons who would love the job beyond the need of securing an income.
“So while I am excited to see so many young faces ready to seize this opportunity, I also warn you that we are looking for serious workers as the security of our citizens and the reform of inmates is too great a task for us to allow persons on the job that simply want a pay cheque. We want you to be vigilant on your job, astute in carrying out your responsibilities and serious about developing a career in our prison services,” the Minster stated.
He announced that the newly appointed Superintendent, Mr David Foot, will be in command of the prison within a few weeks.
“We are looking for young men and women with sound character, young men and women that understand the importance of the job at hand. Young men and women who also know, that a prisoner is a person with rights and those rights must be respected and they must be treated with dignity,” said Hon. Walwyn.
According to the Minister, over the years they were blessed with having men serving the prison who understood the importance of the job at hand. Within recent years, inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison have become more challenging. The Minister said that this makes it even more necessary for the expansion to accommodate prisoners and be prepared to do the job of properly reforming them before returning them to society.
“The vision of the prison is to provide a service of which the public can be proud and which will be regarded as a standard of excellence around the world. Our vision is to also operate a secure prison service that keeps the community safe and offer inmates the opportunity to reform their ways and be equipped with the appropriate life skills to be reintroduced into the community and live productive lives,” Hon. Walwyn stated.
This recruitment effort was part and parcel of a drive for an improved prison system. It is no secret that our facility is understaffed. “While we want to employ more prison officers and support staff, we also see this as an opportunity to give young persons in our community, jobs for viable careers in national security,” Hon. Walwyn continued.
“Young people, this is your chance to gain an employment opportunity that might be entry level today, but with the reform plans that are underway, it can also be your opportunity to gain an education in this field, and perhaps in the next 15 or 20 years, serve as our local Superintendent of Prisons. As I see it today, the doors of our prisons are wide open for opportunities for locals, and I am committed to ensuring the success of any local officer wishing to serve at the highest ranks in our prison system,” he further stated.
Hon. Walwyn said that once on the job, with the new reform initiatives, they will be looking closely to ensure all officers, new and seasoned, are upholding the standards that are set each and every day. He said the success of the reform initiatives depends on the quality of prison officers and they would have to manage those efforts.
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