Deon P. Green, Gleaner Writer

London, England:

The British government will offer the estimated 8,000 non-Europeans in its prisons - more than a third of them Jamaicans - incentives of up to £2,500, if they agree to serve the remainder of their time at home. This would help to ease overcrowding in United Kingdom jails.

Yesterday, Jamaican officials said they had not been formally advised about the proposal and were reluctant to say whether it would be accepted if they were approached by the British government.

"We have not been contacted about that particular scheme (and) I will make no further comment," said a tight-lipped Gilbert Scott, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security.

However, Major Richard Reese, commissioner of corrections, told The Gleaner the notion was not new. "The U.K. government has been proposing the prison transfer agreement for a number of years," he said.

Major Reese added that he has not received a formal response from the ministry outlining its position on the proposal.

John Reid, the Home Secretary, announced the initiative this week as part of a package of measures, including placing recently-sentenced offenders in police cells and converting disused army barracks into prison accommodation, to combat what the British see as a crisis facing the prison system.

On Tuesday, the official U.K. prison population stood at 79,843, a mere 125 short of capacity, which was expected to be reached by the end of this week.

The British government, according to U.K. officials, feels that getting foreigners, about 3,000 of whom are Jamaicans, out of U.K. jails is critical to easing the pressure on the prison system.

Complete sentences at home

Under Reid's plan, the non-Europeans would be asked to volunteer to go home to complete their sentences, with the encouragement of between £500 and £2,500 for those who accept.

Foreigners who agree would not get hard cash in-hand, U.K. officials explained, but the money would go towards the cost of education, training, housing or starting a business.

"It will cost a lot less than paying for them to be in prison here," London's Evening Standard newspaper quoted a Home Office spokesman as saying.

Jamaicans, many of whom are serving time for drug-related offences, make up the largest single foreign nationality in U.K. prisons, and would be seen as among the largest for Reid's incentive.

Enterprise Reporter Tyrone Reid contributed to this story.