Prisons Commissioner John Prescod has said major staffing problems are hampering efforts to treat inmates and run the service.

And he has pledged a major overhaul of the service to make sure it is geared to reducing high recidivism rates.

He told Hamilton Rotarians yesterday: "The Bermuda Department of Corrections is facing major challenges to its capacity to recruit and retain highly-specialised professionals, particularly psychologists, nursing staff and technology specialists.

"High turnover due to an ageing workforce and a complex work environment has meant increasing demands for training of staff and managers to ensure public safety and legal accountabilities are met."

He said the need to reflect Bermuda's gender and race balance also complicated staffing and that succession plans were key to managing changes in senior staff. Human resources will now assess staffing, training and development to make sure the prison is getting the most out of employees.

Mr. Prescod stressed financial accountability was important to help release stretched resources.

And he pledged to increase efforts to reintegrate ex-inmates into the community.

He said: "Approximately 80 percent of offenders who have served time in Bermuda have returned to institutions within 12 months of their return to the community.

"Reducing the rate of re-offending is a long-term solution to making our community safer.

"Every time we stop someone re-offending there are major benefits - less crime, fewer victims, less cost to society."

"To achieve this and other major organisational objectives, the Bermuda Department of Corrections is in the process of re-engineering the entire correctional management system."

An outside expert has been brought in to advise on the overhaul and Mr. Prescod said there was plenty of information to work with as there had been a large number of reports commissioned on Bermuda's prison service.

He said greater efforts would be made to monitor prisoners once they left Westgate by working more closely with probation officers and he said he wanted to foster links with outside organisations including the Hamilton Rotary Club.

Rehabilitation would be individually tailored to prisoners rather than lumping similar categories together said Mr. Prescod.

He said his approach would be a challenge to both inmates and staff.

"It will invest trust in inmates capacity to take responsibility for performing tasks, meeting challenges and utilising opportunities.

"Programmes will be targeted at treating problems that interfere with an offender's ability to function in society.

"Many offenders lack employment and educational skills which limits their ability to earn a living.

"Drug abuse interferes with motivation and increases exposure to criminal lifestyles. Trouble family backgrounds can distort perceptions of the world and feelings towards others."