An inmate of Westgate Correctional Facility has called for an overhaul of the laws governing Bermuda’s prison services to ensure offenders can be released safely and productively back into society.

In an opinion piece published today, the man, who wished to remain unnamed, said there is a lack of resources within the Department of Corrections and an “unwilling mindset” by some prison officers and officials that “hinders the transformational education and rehabilitation that is so desperately needed in the lives of the incarcerated”.

He says the Prisons Act 1979 and Prison Rules 1980 set a low bar for the care of the island’s prison population and failed to address modern-times issues.

The inmate made the case that it is “plain irresponsible” to release prisoners into the community without providing them with access to sufficient programmes to reduce the risk of recidivism and prepare them for reintegration.

Although he addressed lack of funding allocated to the Department of Corrections, his submission focused more on the attitude of people working in the prison.

He said: “There are some who cannot look past one’s offence, who can’t or won’t see one’s capacity for change, or their limitless potential.

“It is this mindset that most hinders progress within our prisons.”

The inmate suggested that there is a “critical” need for prison and parole reform.

He added: “The current laws are woefully inadequate in large part because they afford prison administrators broad discretion in how they administer care.

“It allows for favouritism to factor into the treatment of prisoners instead of creating a merit-based and accountable system of care.”

He conceded that there will be some who oppose reform, support harsher sentences, view harsh conditions as a deterrent and believe that people convicted are irredeemable. But he took that approach to task and asked how it had served the island to this point.

The inmate asked: “Even with harsher sentences, has Bermuda become safer? Do we, as a country, expect to legislate ourselves out of the scourge of crime?

“Even if you believe that incarceration is the solution, what happens when the convicted are released? Because they will be released.

“Everyone leaves our prisons at some point so it is of critical importance that the care of prisoners is thoroughly examined.

“Have our incarcerated not only successfully completed court-mandated classes in relation to their offence, but has there been an investment in their education? Or are we happy to simply release persons back into society just because their ‘time’ is up?”