J'can women jailed in UK could finish sentence here
published: Sunday | July 2, 2006

Lovelette Brooks, Special Projects Editor

SOME 150 JAMAICAN women, most serving time for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act in British penal institutions, may soon have the option of applying for repatriation to finish their sentences at home through a memorandum of understanding signed between the governments of the United Kingdom and Jamaica.

Under this compassionate agreement which will be subject to stringent control, an inmate eligible for parole, or one who has almost completed her prison term, may apply for reprieve.

Although existing on the platform of cooperation between the U.K. and Jamaica for some time, the wheels of this latest initiative are set to turn in another two months, according to Donovan Nelson, spokesman for the Ministry of National Security.

"The agreement has been signed and Minister Peter Phillips, who last week returned from Britain, is in the process of working out the specifics and putting in place the appropriate safeguards," said Mr. Nelson.

REPATRIATION AGREEMENT

Although Jamaican women prisoners may be able to take advantage of educational and training opportunities while incarcerated abroad, these prisons do little to prepare them for release. As a result, many inmates are ill-equipped to adjust to life outside and at home after spending years in a controlled environment.

Outlining the guidelines for the repatriation agreement, Commissioner of Corrections Major Richard Reece says the programme would help to soften the effects of a jail term, among other positive spin-offs.

"As a foreign national, upon parole or release, ex-inmates often find it difficult making their way home. Oftentimes they are still held after their term ends, because they have nowhere to go or no funds to travel, and if released, are at risk because they are not at home," Major Reece added.

An inmate must satisfy a number of criteria before repatriation will be considered. All parties --the British Home Office and Her Majesty's Prison representing the host; Jamaica, the country of reception; and the inmate ­ must engage in a series of negotiations.

Similarly, British nationals serving time at the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre in St. Catherine, Jamaica, can have their cases reviewed in a bid to continuing their sentences in the U.K. "Foreign nationals in Jamaica do suffer the same psychological separation as Jamaicans serving time overseas," says Major Reece, fully endorsing the programme.

Retaining family ties while in prison is one particularly promising dimension of the repatriation initiative. At present, as has been the case for many years when 'mule runners' were more active, Jamaican women comprised the majority of foreign nationals incarcerated in U.K. penal institutions. Many have left children behind, vulnerable to abuse, rape and recruitment into crime. While a repatriation programme does not promise freedom, it has the potential to bridge the geographical gap of separation.