Brickdam lock-up expansion delays putting squeeze on police
-acting Top Cop says no word on completion after years
Still ongoing expansion works that have prevented the use of the Brickdam Police Station’s lock-up are “dragging on for too long,” according to acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine, who says the situation is taxing the force’s scarce resources to shuttle detainees, including high-profile suspects, to other facilities on a daily basis.
At a news conference at Eve Leary yesterday, Ramnarine lamented that there is no clear indication of when the works, which have been ongoing for years, would be completed.
“When you have to eke out scarce mobile resources and manpower every day to traverse long distances to detain suspects at other facilities… one can understand the challenges and the reconfiguration… of that lock-up has been dragging on for too long,” Ramnarine said, while calling for the works to be expedited.
Stabroek News was able to confirm that the lock-up, which has been the subject of controversy over the years because of its deplorable and inhumane state, is not currently being used for detentions.
Following reports of inhumane conditions several years ago, millions of dollars were spent to rehabilitate the facility. However, given the fact that it is the main holding facility in ‘A’ Division, a decision was made by the former government to expand it. Those works have been dragging on for years now.
Ramnarine’s highlighting of the situation is the first known public complaint made by the police over the situation.
According to Ramnarine, the state of the key detection facility continues to be of grave concern to police. He said some years ago it was referred to as a “five-star” facility in the making but it currently remains a “travesty to law enforcement efforts in A Division, in particular.”
He noted that over the years ‘A’ Division has had to deal with over 60% of the reports of serious crimes.
He said that the burden of moving serious crime suspects to other lock-ups on a daily basis is “one we have been bearing with tremendous patience over the years.” He later used the opportunity to urge the officials concerned to “spare no effort” to make the much needed facility available once more.
Ramnarine noted that much has been published about the use of the lockup as well as the need to make it more efficient, accommodating and to address human rights issues. He said that making it more accommodating does not refer only to comfort at the facility but also to the numbers housed there. Although each police station has holding facilities, many are not built to hold a large number of detainees.
Ramnarine added that the concerns about the facility have been raised with the officials responsible. “I rather believe that there needs to be more effort in terms of expediting, enhancing that process. It is taking a bit too long. It is a key facility [and] it should be given the requisite attention or more attention,” he stressed.
While Ramnarine did not state where the prisoners are being held in the interim, in a letter in response to an article published in one of the daily newspapers in May this year, the police had informed that the Golden Grove Police Station is being used to house prisoners who may have otherwise been kept at the under-construction Brickdam Police Station lock-up. In the letter, it was also assured that all the necessary security arrangements are in place.
During the latter months of 2008, detainees who would have spent time at the facility publicly complained about the conditions and were adamant that it was unfit to house people. There were complaints of overflowing toilets and limited water for baths, among other things. One detainee had described it as a health hazard. There had also been calls for the facility to be closed down.
In February, 2009, it was announced that the lock-up would be rehabilitated.
In May, 2013, the then Ministry of Home Affairs (now renamed the Ministry of Public Security) invited bids for the construction of the upper flat of the lockup, which was estimated to cost $53,781,901. It is unclear who won the bid and how much money has been spent so far. Earlier this year, the National Assembly approved an additional $20 million for the expansion project.
Founder of Red Thread Karen de Souza has repeatedly express dissatisfaction with the work done so far. Speaking to Stabroek News several months ago, she expressed certainty that the steel and concrete structure which is being built violates every possible human rights convention. “I cannot begin to imagine what the ventilation is like in there,” she said, while adding that government and by extension the Minister of Public Security cannot just sit back and allow the situation to continue.