| Chamber hears plea for halfway house | | Print | |
| Written by Richard Green/richard@fptci.com | |||
| Friday, 21 October 2011 11:30 | |||
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The Turks and Caicos Islands desperately need a halfway house to help non-violent drug offenders and those released from prison and drug treatment integrate successfully back into jobs, families and society to prevent them from committing crimes and going to prison, the Providenciales Chamber of Commerce was told at its meeting Oct. 17. The plea came from several members of a panel speaking on the rising drug problem in the country and its relationship to crime. Rev. John Malcolm, director of the National Drug Unit, said past studies in the TCI have shown that 71 percent of offenders had substance abuse problems from both drugs and alcohol. He gave some startling statistics about young people interviewed in secondary schools:
The findings go hand in hand with increased improper behavior in schools and crimes committed by young people, Malcolm said. “Many of the students that we worked with in secondary schools are now persons that we’re seeing in prison,” Malcolm said. “I’m convinced that the recent increase in criminal activity in the TCI is a direct result of the increase of substance abuse,” he said. “We have spent thousands of dollars sending persons off to overseas rehabilitation centers, and what we’ve discovered is that when these persons come back, they endeavor to do well, but there is no re-entry program, there is no reintegration program … and so many of them end up back in the same neighborhoods or in a volatile family environment that causes them to go back to their old habits.” A halfway house would help those returning from treatment and being released from prison to go straight and become productive members of society. The country also needs an alternative sentencing program for first-time drug offenders with non-violent backgrounds so that they aren’t put in prison with hardened criminals. They to could be sent to the halfway house where they could receive counseling, and job training and placement. In 2006 the government gave 10 acres of land and $450,000 towards the halfway house project, which had planning approval but was abandoned because of the economic downturn. The Drug Prevention Foundation took over fundraising and has come up with more than $130,000. The idea is to raise enough money to complete the halfway house as planned or buy a building to renovate and repurpose. Malcolm asked the chamber to partner in an effort to make the halfway house a reality, but he understood that it’s hard asking for money during these tough economic times. “But you need to recognize that if left unchecked, this thing is going to continue to spiral out of control, and we’re all going to be affected by it,” Malcolm said. Chamber President Tina Fenimore and Vice President E. Jay Saunders pledged to work with the Drug Unit to find a way to make the halfway house a reality. Among other suggestions from the panel were:
Prison Superintendent Ian Sargent said part of his mission is making sure that drugs don’t find their way into Her Majesty’s Prison on Grand Turk. While in prison, inmates can get drug counseling and job training, but he said that a drug court that specifically deals with first-time drug offenders could help fight the problem. New Supreme Court Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale was instrumental in working on creating drug courts in the Cayman Islands where she formerly served as chief magistrate. Police Deputy Commissioner Brad Sullivan said his job is not only to catch those with drugs but to work with other agencies to stop the flow of drugs into the country. The problem is that with so many islands, the country has a “porous border” that is difficult to defend against traffickers.
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