Costly prisons

WITH the majority of lawsuits against the State filed by inmates seeking millions in compensation based on complaints about lack of bathroom facilities, overcrowding and general prison conditions, the Attorney General’s Chambers has recommended that the Department of Corrections “address the systematic deficiencies and the administrative shortcomings in order to cauterise the influx of these types of cases”.

“We have a lot of cases before the court that highlight these challenges,” director of state proceedings in the Attorney General’s Department Faith Hall said Tuesday on day two of the 14th annual Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections and Prison Services (ACHCPS) Conference.

The confab is hosted by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Jamaica at the AC Hotel Kingston.