St. George’s, Grenada, November 3rd, 2008_Prime Minister Tillman Thomas on Friday paid his first official visit to Her Majesty’s Prisons since taking office last July. The Prime Minister, reliving his experiences when he was held as a political detainee at the Richmond Hill between 1979 and 1983, toured the facility, including part of its agricultural section, prior to meeting with Commissioner Wesley Beggs and other senior officers,. The Prime Minister was briefed on the operations of the prison, the reform programme, the safety of officers in dealing with the criminally insane and the current state of the service. He was requested to help restore to the prison service to appropriate staffing levels as there were no promotions since 1999. Officers said political interference in the promotion process by members of the former administration was largely to blame for the difficult circumstances the service was operating under. “Political lines were drawn. We were given directives by the politicians on who should be promoted and we resisted these directives,” one officer said. The Officers complained about the absence of uniforms, minimal training, understaffing and lack of compensation for junior officers carrying out the functions of senior and principal officers. The officers said many posts within the service that were made vacant due to persons leaving the service, dating back to 2002, were not filled placing the present compliment of officers under significant strain. One of the main issues, according to the officers was training to deal with deportees. “Persons who have committed criminal acts in foreign countries and are deported, are coming back with knowledge that we have not been exposed to. We also have persons who are of non English speaking nationalities and we cannot communicate with them. We will like some training in these areas,” one officer said. The Prime Minister said the prison service has declined over the years and committed to doing all “in my power” to improve the lot of the prison service, particularly the issue of uniforms. “The Prison service is an integral part of national security. It deserves respect as one of our institutions. We need to restore the dignity and pride of our institutions. We are committed to strengthening the prison system,” the Prime Minister told the officers. On the issue of promotions the Prime Minister said “fair, transparent and honest practices must be adhered to.” The officers praised the work of Commissioner Beggs, who worked his way through the ranks of the prison service. “The prison system is much better off today because we have a commissioner who understands prison life. This was not the way it used to be years ago when police men were sent to manage the prison. They were trained to be police officers,” the officers agreed. Inside Grenada News