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INDECOM Commissioner Hugh Faulkner
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has recommended the immediate closure of jail blocks at the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre in St. Catherine.
This is among the recommendations the agency presented on Thursday to address shortfalls at the correctional centre.
During a virtual media briefing on Thursday, INDECOM Commissioner Hugh Faulkner said improvements are urgently needed regarding “sanitation, ventilation…lighting [and] the education facilities”.
A report from INDECOM earlier this week noted wards are often isolated on the jail blocks for alleged offences.
“This particular recommendation does not involve budgetary expenditure so it is not a situation where you need to build some infrastructure, request a budget etc. This is something that can be immediately acted on,” Mr. Falkner said.
He also said INDECOM will contemplate its next step if the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) fails to act on the recommendations.
Mr. Faulkner later shared concerns about inconsistencies in the quality of education provided to students at the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre.
He said the majority of students who sat CXC exams recorded poor results.
“When I looked at some of the details of eight of the students…I could identify only one subject being passed. And for various reasons there were at least 16 others who sat no subject,” Mr. Faulkner highlighted.
He also implored the DCS to ensure consistency in the students’ exposure to education and access to proper facilities.
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