Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
( left - right ) McDONALD-BARKER and REESE
SEVERAL CORPORATE Area police lock-ups have become so overcrowded that the police fear they may run out of room to house other persons who run afoul of the law.
"Up to last week, the lock-ups in Area Four were packed," said Superintendent Rosemarie McDonald-Barker of the Area Four police headquarters in downtown Kingston.
Supt. McDonald-Barker, who monitors the daily intake of detainees at the region's lock-ups, told The Gleaner on Monday that she had spoken with the relevant authorities last week, requesting that some of the detainees be transferred to the Horizon Park Remand Centre on Spanish Town Road, St. Andrew.
"I don't know if this process has already begun," she noted.
Head of the Correctional Services, Major Richard Reese, said over the past two weeks, the Horizon Park Remand Centre had taken in some detainees from the Area Four lock-ups, but that at the moment, they are experiencing staff shortages, in addition to undergoing repairs on sections of the facility.
"We take in about 50 detainees at any one time," said Commissioner Reese.
According to him, the current population at the facility is under 700, while the maximum capacity is 1,036.
Among the affected locks-ups are Hunts Bay in St. Andrew south and Kingston east.
OUT OF SERVICE
Deputy Superintendent Doric Sinclair of the Kingston East Police Division said while some of the facilities were out of service, the others were packed.
"I have been in touch with the Special Project Unit in the National Security Ministry," said DSP Sinclair.
In contrast, some rural lock-ups are underutilised. Head of the Clarendon Police Division, Superintendent Terrence Bent, said the lock-ups in his division were not overcrowded.
Further reports are that in some instances, dangerous criminals have to be transported to rural lock-ups for safekeeping. According to one senior officer, the sole truck that transports prisoners to courts in Area Four is "overworked."
Chairman of the Police Federation, Corporal Raymond Wilson, said the problem of overcrowding in the lock-ups has always been a concern to the police over the years.
"It also puts the police under additional stress and strain, especially when some of these detainees take ill," said Cpl. Wilson.
On October 24, 1992, three men - Agana Barrett, Ian Forbes and Vassell Brown - suffocated in a overcrowded cell at the Constant Spring Police Station. They were among 19 men packed inside the cell at the time.
