New prison management takes over Hattieville
Major changes are underway at Hattieville prison…and while that institution’s shift to private management is meant to provide a more humane and less corrupt environment for prisoners, it is the prison officers who seem to have the greatest doubts about the future. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods has the story from Hattieville.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It is still not clear just how many of the one hundred and ninety employees of the Department of Corrections will remain on the job. But the process is that workers’ applications will be reviewed and a selection will be made. On Wednesday, the Kolbe Foundation, officially took over the control of the institution.
Mike Polonio, Board Member, Kolbe Foundation
“Kolbe Foundation is basically an organisation that put together by a group of concerned Rotarians, primarily. And in keeping with the spirit of Rotary in trying to assist in the improvement in society, we have tackled pretty much this very tough societal problem, which is the Hattieville Correctional. Because we firmly believe that one, it needs to be improved for both, primarily the circumstances of the men and women that are here, and two, because whatever improvement we do will improve society, especially in terms of those people that are eventually released back into society.”
Mike Polonio, a board member of Kolbe, says they will work to improve conditions for prison employees as well as inmates. However, only a few of the workers remain optimistic about their future and the institution’s progress. Prison officers, who did not want to appear on camera, say because the transition has not been clearly explained to them, they no longer feel secure on the job. However, one week ago, the employees were given an application form to fill out and state whether they wanted to retire from the public service or work for the foundation.
Mike Polonio
“Those that sign on with Kolbe, from those that we accept from the time they are taken on, they will be treated fairly, squarely, their improvements in pay and different improvements. Certainly why we are here is to improve the general working conditions of the employees as well those that will remain as our employees.”
Kolbe, in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, is still working out the details as to how the institution will be managed. Although, having just taken the reigns of one of the country’s most problematic institutions, Kolbe officials are already dealing with some disturbing allegations levied against senior prison management that include brutalising of prisoners and the sexual harassment of female employees.
Mike Polonio
“We are here to improve the situation as mentioned of prisoners, and certainly we will not be tolerant of any form of misconduct in any form or manner.”
While some employees are unsure of their future, the institution’s management team has been selected. Errol Gentle has been appointed as Director of Prisons. Deputy Director of Prisons is Mark Flowers, while Marlon Skeen has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
As a point of interest, the foundation is named after a Catholic priest, Father Kolbe. According to Polonio, Kolbe was a concentration camp inmate during World War Two who took a fellow prisoner’s place in the death chamber because the inmate was a family man.
