Prison officers have been working under crisis conditions for more than ten years while the Department of Corrections is vastly underfunded, the chairman of the Prison Officers Association has said.

According to Timothy Seon, the department was about 100 officers short, with approximately 146, while its staffing schedule calls for 244.

He added that it led to officer burnout, while programmes for prisoners, including those deemed mandatory for violent and sexual offenders, were run inconsistently if at all.

Mr Seon said that officers worked two or three double shifts a week while inmates with mental health challenges were in Westgate prison without the required expertise for their care — and the building itself was nearing disrepair as maintenance budgets were slashed.

He said the Transitional Living Centre to prepare inmates for release was not operating and millions needed to be invested to make the prison and parole service fit for purpose.

Mr Seon told The Royal Gazette: “We are beyond stretched. Prison officers have been working in crisis mode for over a decade. We should not be subjected to working in these conditions for the duration of time that we have. It is totally unacceptable.

“To be quite frank, for most officers now, the morale within the Department of Corrections, which now falls under the Ministry of Justice, is extremely low because we are not being funded to carry out our mandate.

“Morale is low among the prisoners as well, absolutely. I have been bringing this to the fore since my tenure, the inadequate funding.”

Mr Seon, who has been chairman of the POA for almost a decade and has been a prison officer for 15 years, was speaking after an inmate at Westgate highlighted what he called systemic failures from a lack of adequate programming, and an “unwilling mindset” by some officers and officials that hindered inmates’ progress.

Robert King, an opposition MP with more than 30 years’ experience working with offenders, also highlighted shortages in the system recently in Parliament.

The Government has acknowledged the problems, stating it is committed to expanding opportunities for inmates. It allocated an additional $400,000 in the recent Midyear Budget Review specifically for rehabilitative programmes at Westgate and related facilities.

At the end of last year, the Department of Corrections started a recruitment campaign to bolster staffing.

Mr Seon said that in the past eight years, the department had suffered cuts amounting to roughly $7.5 million and that reinstating it would only be a start.

He said: ”With the Public Bodies Reform Act [2014] recommendations, the maintenance was first to be cut. A building that operates 24/7 and you cut the maintenance budget? The building is in such a state that all you can afford to do is put band aids on issues that need serious remediation, whether it be mould or fixing the roofs.

“The prison officers get about $69,000 so times that by 100, that is just salaries — then there are the intangible costs such as benefits. We are also two case workers and a social worker short.

“The building would cost in the millions, easily. The Westgate facility was opened in 1997, the average building has a life span of 25 years, so we have already exceeded that.

“The Department of Corrections has also become a revolving door for the mentally challenged because funding is being cut everywhere.

“People who should be in the care of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute are now finding themselves within the doors of the department. It is not the right place for them to be.”

Mr Seon said all three elements of the department — the custody, medical and programmes components — were underfunded and had been since about 2014-15.

He said mandatory programmes for sex offenders, violent offenders and those in need of substance abuse treatment were part of the parole package.

He added: “These classes have not been running consistently for some time. That is no attack on the programme staff because, like us, they are running short.

“It is very concerning because it creates frustration for the individual. The judge says after three years you are eligible for the programme but because of your crime you have to do an offenders’ course.

“They get to the point where they can now take the course, they are considered low enough in their risk assessment and when they are ready to take it, it is not available. It is not uncommon for that to happen.”

Educational courses such as carpentry and metal work are not in operation because of lack of instructors.

However, there are distance learning courses through Bermuda College, and small engines, gardening and computer classes.

The Right Living House drug treatment programme established in 2010 is also in operation.

Mr Seon, who estimated that one third of the prison population had some kind of gang affiliation, called for a programme specific to gang-related crime to be instituted.

He said he decided to become a prison officer on the advice of elders who saw potential in him as an example to men who had lost their way.

Mr Seon called the present system “frustrating”.

“I understand that there are pieces being moved on by the board. The Public Bodies Reform Act spoke to the reorganisation of the Government as a whole and departments where they want to get more for less.

“That is why you get the shortage of staff, different roles and functions being melded together. But in certain services, it is just no good because it compromises security.

“Funding is key before you can talk about anything else. If you can’t have the classes, you can’t say you are successfully helping them.

“There are individuals who are in our charge who are your fathers, your uncles, your nephews and sons who at some point will have to be released back into society, and you do not want to reintegrate them worse off.

“When you release a broken individual back into society, you are really creating another victim because they are going to come out and repeat.”

The Ministry of Justice did not respond to questions by press time.