Tag: Steven Barrett
Chief Justice Smellie knighted in latest royal gongs
(CNS): Chief Justice Anthony Smellie QC has received a Knighthood for services to Law and Justice in the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, the governor’s office has announced. He is recognised for “his outstanding service over the last four decades, including over twenty years as chief justice”, Roper said. Cindy Scotland, […]
Prison boss to leave before year-end
(CNS): Prison Director Steve Barrett will be leaving the Cayman Islands and his job before the year end and is said to be returning to his native Scotland. In an official release on Friday confirming his departure, no specific reason for Barrett’s early departure was given but he and government officials said it was for […]
Full prison struggles with high COVID case load
(CNS): With at least nine security officers isolating at home and around 20 inmates now infected with COVID-19, the prison service is struggling with quarantine issues inside HMP Northward. Prison Director Steve Barrett has denied that inmates who have tested positive are being housed in the same cells as those who are virus-free and said […]
Prison officer positive for COVID-19
(CNS): A prison officer has tested positive for COVID-19 in what could now be a third separate case of community acquired coronavirus unconnected to the original outbreak in North Side or the George Town primary school case. Prison Director Steve Barrett told CNS that the inmates were already responding really well to the restrictions that […]
Prison partners with UWI to tackle ‘revolving door’
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Prison Service (HMCIPS) has signed a deal with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus to deliver education and skills training to inmates and tackle Cayman’s revolving prison door. The agreement is a first of its kind in the region, in which a recognised university has formalised a partnership […]
Young offenders still jailed with adult inmates
(CNS): A new report by the Cayman Islands Independent Monitoring Board (CIIMB), which was established to observe the conditions and treatment of inmates within the local prison system, has noted that Cayman is still housing juvenile offenders alongside adult prisoners, in some cases with some of the most dangerous and volatile serving time in HMP […]
Second officer arrested for jail house drug dealing
(CNS): A second prison officer in just over a month has been arrested on suspicion of drug related crimes. The prison management at HMP Northward reported the discovery of ganja to the police at 6am this morning after a male officer had been searched on his way into work and packages of the drugs found. […]
Prison officer accused of dealing ganja in jail
(CNS): A prison officer has been arrested and is currently in police custody accused of smuggling ganja into HMP Northward to sell to inmates. The 36-year-old man was arrested by police after they received a report from Prison Director Steve Barrett at around 6am today, 9 June.
Mental health ‘grave concern’ at prisons
(CNS): The mental health needs of prisoners at HMP Northward and HMP Fairbanks must be addressed urgently, according to a report published by a group of volunteers. The first report of the Cayman Islands Independent Monitoring Board, based on 369 visits conducted in 2019, raised “grave concerns” about the lack of provision for the significant […]
TCI prisoners moved to HMP Northward
(CNS) Government officials revealed Thursday that two high security convicted criminals from the Turks and Caicos Islands have been transferred to HMP Northward for a temporary but unspecified period as a result of challenges with TCI’s prison estate. No details have been revealed about the men’s crimes but they were housed in the damaged high […]
Officials step up prison rehab efforts
(CNS): Inmates at HMP Northward are now training to fill some of Cayman’s major skills gaps for technical jobs that are in the highest demand, from air-conditioning repair to carpentry. One of the biggest problems with the criminal justice system is the recidivism of offenders, given the barriers they face finding work when they leave […]
