Prison search
Prisons are the same all over the world, though some prisons are obviously worse places to be than others. But they have one thing in common: their residents have nothing else to do all day long than thinking about their next move. How to get their hands on a cell phone, how to get their drugs, how to get their weapons – the list is endless.
Sooner or later bad things happen in prisons – see the recent shooting of Omar Jones.
We know from a report by the Progress Committee that prison director Edward Rohan does not have things under control. Hence the call for his resignation. But is that really the right call?
We’re not here to defend Rohan, we just want a different perspective on this situation.
If the Progress Committee has established that managing the prison is too much for Rohan, then why did the justice minister not do something? The first thing that comes to mind is: help. Offer assistance to get things under control.
But no, as far as we know, nothing like this happened and because the minister opts to remain silent we cannot even say for sure that he did nothing at all.
We figure that everything comes down to money. If the prison were thoroughly searched every week, we figure that a lot of bad things could be prevented from happening. Alas, a big operation like last Saturday is costing a lot of money – a scarce commodity in St. Maarten. Hence the reactive approach.
As long as nothing bad happens everything seems to be under control – but everyone knows this is an illusion especially in an environment filled with people most of us would not want as their son-in-law.
Did this search solve anything? Well, maybe the confiscated cell phones will tell investigators a lot more about the network that connects those on the inside with others on the outside. The reality is that, for a long time to come, inmates will be able to find their own solutions in the knowledge that these extensive searches only happen every so often – once every three years maybe.
Will the authorities take measures to prevent more drama? That could very well be, but we will probably never hear a thing about it, because prison walls have ears too.
