Over 30 Caymanians apply for job at prison
(CNS): Prison officials said that 128 people, including 32 Caymanians, have begun the three-step process to secure one of seven vacancies in the Cayman Islands Prison Service after a recruitment drive that began in August. Testing began last week with a written entrance exam, which tests the candidates maths and English standards. For those who meet the grade the next step is a fitness test, after which the remaining candidates will move on to an interview before the final seven are recruited and begin their training.
“After such a successful public safety recruitment drive back in late August, we are extremely happy to see so many applicants show interest in a future career with prison service,” said Prison Director Neil Lavis.
There are currently 18 prisoners at the women’s prison, HMP Fairbanks, eight of whom are awaiting trial or sentencing. At HMP Northward there are 211 prisoners, 74 of whom are on remand, which means the men’s prison is almost at its maximum capacity of 214 inmates. The new conditional release law has put extra strain on the prison, which is already understaffed, as officers are expected to take part in the rehabilitation programmes that all prisoners serving more than 12 months must take part in before they can be eligible for release after serving 60% of their time.
Given the need to get the new recruits signed up and their training underway as soon as possible, Lavis said the fitness tests for those that pass the English and maths test will take place on Saturday, 22 October. The prison will be hoping to recruit as many local candidates as possible from the 32 that applied.
Of all the uniformed services, the prison has the least number of Caymanians on the payroll. In 2015 there were 80 local applicants for that year’s recruitment process but only four Caymanian candidates made it through to the training class and one of those failed to get through the programme. Lavis revealed that many of the local applicants failed to turn up for the start of the testing several of those who did turn up failed the written test and more went on to fail the fitness test. However, he maintained that the test was not taxing and included sit ups and push-ups, an agility test running around cones, as well as a mile run in ten minute.
As well as having basic English and maths skills and the level of fitness required to cope with the demands of the job, Lavis indicated there were other qualities that the prison would be looking for in its new recruits.
“We have a total of seven positions available, and we are looking for applicants who are driven and passionate when it comes to helping others and the country,” Lavis said. “Being a prison officer is not an easy job, it can be challenging, but we are determined to find the right people with the right attitude to take on the role.”
The selected recruits will go through several weeks of intense training in late November or early December, the director added, as he wished the applicants good luck during the process.
Category: Crime, Jobs, Local News, Prison
Congrats…. The jail is hiring… That is exactly where I always wanted my kids to be working…. How about law, accounting, or banking firms hiring caymanians. Hey, the gas station is hiring too.
In all seriousness, yes good people work at the jail and make differences in lives. I’m just making the point that people are excited the jail is hiring caymanians…. Why?
Look inn the newspapers bobo..full of ads for the jobs you want.
To many steps to gey that job.
What kind of Caymanians? Paper, generational? Did they come by plane or by pain? It matters to some.
It should not matter to anyone other than the xenophobic bigots who inhabit these comment pages and who are NOT representative of Caymanians as a whole.
CaymanIan by blood not paper 1244
No such thing as a blood Caymanian….inbreeding breeds contempt
Thanks @11:13, totally agree, some of us do care
You and @11:33 are truly pathetic, 9:47.
Now I hope all of the vacant positions can be filled with suitable persons and not just friends of friends of friends
What is the need to have English and Maths? I would think that what is needed is Fairness, Honesty, good health good common sense, and any other skill that could be passed on to the prisoners. Is the 30 applicants of Cayman applicants and only 30 are Caymanians it tells me a sad story. That is that we are sooo out numbered.
Being able to administer regular beatings should be in there too.
Its this type of mentality like yours that has this country the way it is now.
Are you some kind of weed smoking idiot? Why do you ask why does the candidate for the job has to have a basic education?
Have you seen what happens when you give uneducated persons such jobs?
And your comment that this is a sad story and being out numbered. You obviously are part of why we are getting out numbered since instead of trying to improve your education standards, you feel entitled to get the job because you can be fair and honest. Where is your common sense?
Have some common sense man. Get a basic education or better and motivate the children to do the same.
This entitlement mentality is the problem. This is the obvious problem. An employer request for a certain education level and you as a potential employee has indicated you don’t need the requirements, just give you the job because you think you have common sense?
Preach @9:32
12:12, how you propose to teach common sense to someone when you yourself cannot write, read or speak basic English?
Because I am uneducated.
And as you can see already how it looks. Now imagine me at the prison.
The children could learn from my bad English writing skills. Even now you attack my education. What more if I was asked to do a report on something at the Prison.
And as you can see. What I said did not matter to you. But how it was written and and how your bigoted mind read it. My uneducated English.
The difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse. (All depends on your basic education skills.)
@8:45 am – Brilliant!
You have to be able to count to know how many prisoners you are guarding otherwise you’d never know if any had escaped..
Nice to be close to family.
I hope we employ a few excons, they will know how the drugs are getting in.
In 2015 there were only 4 out of 80 local applicants that made it.??
Good luck this round
How strange….most who want to go there get in without applying….
Only 3 out of 80 Caymanian applicants made it in the 2015 recruitment drive!. What does that tell us?.
“Basic Maths, English skills and the level of fitness required to cope with the demands of the job”. But Ezzard and Arden never told we it needed these qualifications. That no fair, it just to get foreigners in the jobs.
not quite….
@6.21 I hope you are trying to pass yourself off as a Caymanian, because you failed miserably. Fake.
@2:14am I think you may be right about the “fake” part but the first part of your sentence and the second part don’t seem to make sense. Don’t apply for a prison job.