No.178/2005

Regional Prison Officers Training Workshop Opens in SVG

A one-week Regional Prison Officers Training Course in Security Management and Female issues got on the way in St. Vincent and the Grenadines this morning. Delegates from around the region gathered at the Sunset Shores hotel at Villa for the start of the British funded program.

Resident British Commissioner Terence Knight affirmed the British Government‘s commitment to assisting the prison services in the Region. Knight said the program in the Caribbean has been one of the most effective sponsored by the British Government. "It (the program) has helped to transform the conduct and effectiveness of prison services throughout the Region," Knight stated.

Superintendent of HM Prison Kingstown Eric Rodriguez said St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the other countries of the Region are privileged to be the recipients of good training as that is the way forward. Meanwhile Nicholas Brooke, Caribbean Prison Adviser said the whole purpose of such workshops is ‘to identify the capability and make sure that everything that’s done is sustainable."

Presenting the feature address at this morning’s opening ceremony, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Godfrey Pompey, expressed sincere appreciation to the British Government for not only selecting this country for the training program, but for their continuous assistance in the area of Human Resource Development. Pompey said the British must also be commended for ‘their continued contribution to the training and the development of Prison Officers across the Region." He added that ‘St. Vincent and the Grenadines can now boast of having a prison staff that is well trained and prepared to manage the new Prison facility at Belle Isle when it becomes operational in 2006."

S. Daniel

June 13, 2005