The Government of Grenada is providing clarity on the newly-designated holding facility, established in Morne Rouge.
The facility, located on a compound that has been used to house persons in quarantine and isolation since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, is now known as the Grand Anse Prisons and Lock-Ups, as outlined in Statutory Rules and Orders No. 39 of 2021.
It is a temporary measure designed to reduce the potential spread of Covid-19 at the Her Majesty’s Prisons.
In response to media queries on Wednesday, Commissioner of Police, Edvin Martin said the facility may never even be used for its designated purpose. However, he explained that before housing a prisoner in any facility, it must be appropriately designated.
Further explaining the forward-thinking measure, the Commissioner confirmed that there are no prisoners in the temporary facility at present, as the in-house isolation facility at Richmond Hill is currently sufficient.
He said, “This is a temporary mechanism to serve as a half-way point for persons sentenced or remanded to Her Majesty’s Prisons who may be positive for Covid-19. The intention here is to reduce the risk of sending positive cases to our Prisons potentially running the risk of infecting the prison population.”
The Police Commissioner added, “It must be made clear, that to legally hold persons there, the facility has to be designated for the intended purpose. The fact is, Her Majesty’s Prisons has made adjustment in its own facility to currently isolate a limited number of such persons. Therefore, this a redundancy measure in case of Her Majesty’s Prisons in-house isolation facility reaches capacity.”
He is optimistic that once the current level of community spread is reduced, this measure will be rescinded.
GIS
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Finally, after all this time some proactive action. Prisoners are humans too.