One hundred and sixty-two first time offenders are in prison

One hundred and sixty-two first time offenders are among a total of 416 inmates at the two locations of His Majesty’s Prisons.

This statistic was relayed by Superintendent of Prisons, Dwayne Bailey, at the closing of the Criminal Assizes at the High Court before Justice Rickie Burnett on December 19, 2024.

Bailey told the court that there are currently 416 inmates in prison, 410 of whom are male, and six are female. A total of 162 inmates are first time offenders. This number represents approximately 39 per cent of the prison population.

There are a total of 157 first time male offenders, and five first time female offenders in prison. Only one female, and 138 males have re-offended between one to three times, while no female has re-offended more than three times.

A total of 54 males have re-offended between four and six times; 41 have re-offended between seven and 12 times; 11 have re-offended between 13 and 20 times; and four have reoffended 21 times and over.

Inmates are mostly middle-aged men. A total 91 men are between the ages of 40 and 49; 59 males are over 50; 88 men are between 30 and 35 years; 55 men are between 26 and 29; 39 men are between 22 and 25 years; 15 men are between ages 16 and 21. Two males are under 16 years old, and the ages of 10 males are unknown.

The six female inmates are between the ages of 22 and 39 years of age.

The leading offences for which time is being served are murder, wounding, and burglary.

Ninety-six men are in prison on murder charges; 47 men and two females are serving time for wounding; and 30 men are serving time for burglary- a total of 175 inmates.

The other offences for which inmates are serving time are: possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition; robbery; unlawful sexual intercourse; rape; manslaughter; attempted murder; aggravated burglary; theft; and wounding.

Prison statistics revealed that a total of 59 men are from South Leeward; 41 males are from Central Kingstown; 36 males are from South Windward; and 29 males are from East Kingstown. A total of 29 males are from North Windward, with one female offender being from that area as well. They constitute the areas from which the highest percentage of the prison population is drawn.

It was also revealed that a total of 222 inmates, or 53.4 percent of the prison population have attended a secondary school, while 174 inmates or 41.8 percent of the population has obtained a primary education as their highest level of schooling.

A total of 18 inmates have acquired tertiary education, while one inmate has pursued vocational studies, and one other has not acquired any form of formal education.

There are currently no female non-nationals in SVG’s prisons. However, the penal institution currently houses four Trinidadians; three Saint Lucians; one Barbadian; one Guyanese; one Jamaican; and one American.

Of the 416 inmates, 219 males and four females were sentenced by the Supreme Court and 126 males and two females by the Magistrate’s Court. Twenty-nine males are awaiting trial, and 38 males are on remand.