Prison visits suspended; inmates to video chat with family members

Prison authorities say that they are putting measures in place to allow inmates to video chat with relatives following the donation of more than two dozen tablets. According to a statement issued yesterday, visits to Guyana’s prisons have been replaced with video calls amid the Coronavirus pandemic. In the statement, Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, disclosed that this measure would be implemented following a donation of 30 electronic tablets by the Ministry of Public Telecommunications. Samuels noted that visits were suspended at all prisons throughout the country to protect the staff and inmates from the spread of COVID-19. The tablets will allow prisoners to contact family members via video conferencing using the free government WiFi that is already in place at the penitentiaries. “The calls will be made via the Google Hangout application through the means of a cellular phone, iPad, tablet or computer with a camera and a microphone powered by an internet connection,” Samuels stated. Only family members and attorneys-at-law representing inmates will be allowed to utilise this service. They will be required to send a request by email to the location where the prisoner is housed. This would then be processed by an officer assigned to oversee the calls. The donation earlier this week sparked debate, with questions whether it could not have gone to more needy persons or organizations. However, according to Minister

of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, the inmates are not the ones receiving the donation. “There are more than 2,000 prisoners…how far will 30 tablets go? It just assists the Prison Service in allowing basic communication between prisoners and their families. Folks, we have bigger challenges to fight than this,” she said in a Facebook post. She stated, “…what’s sad is clearly some have forgotten the thousands of tablets I distributed in the last 18 months to schools, community ICT hubs, STEM groups, children that did well in school, the blind, deaf, children in orphanages, women in shelters, Indigenous community groups, women’s groups, nurses, teachers…oh boy. We are a truly damaged society.” (Kaieteur News)