Legal system Flashcards
The prison system in Jamaica was composed of three (3) main entities
the Prisons,
the Probation Services and,
the Approved Schools
History
in 1978 the Criminal Justice Reform Act was passed in Parliament and introduced new alternatives to incarceration (non-custodial sentences).
Alternative to imprisonment
Fines: the offender is required to pay a specified sum of money to the authorities.
- Probation: the offender is required to be supervised and regularly checked for a specific period.
- Reparation & Restitution: the offender is required to undertake specified activities to ‘repay’ either society or his victim for his criminal activities.
non-custodial options are
Community Service Order (CSO)
Suspended Sentence Supervision Order
Voluntary Supervision
Probation Order
The Department of Correctional Services is comprised of :
Seven (7) Adult Correctional Centres,
One (1) Adult Remand Centre,
Four (4) Juvenile Centres, and
Seventeen (17) Community Service Offices (Probation Offices) located island wide
Today, the Department has three (3) core functional areas:
Custodial Services (Adults and Juveniles)
Rehabilitation
Human Resource Management and Community Services.
Core Functions
Facilities and Welfare: Providing appropriate facilities for the admission, incarceration, and welfare of inmates and wards.
Probation, Parole, and Hostel Services: Administering services such as probation, parole, and hostel operations in the community and providing reports to assist courts in making decisions on specific cases.
Rehabilitation Programs: Implementing programs to rehabilitate inmates, offenders, and wards, such as educational programs, counseling, spiritual or religious instruction, and other treatment programs.
Fiscal Responsibility: Developing, implementing, and evaluating procedures to ensure fiscal responsibility within the organization.
WHAT IS PAROLE?
Parole is the authority granted to an inmate to leave the prison in which he is serving a sentence and to spend the last portion of that sentence in
the open society.
There are four Juvenile Correctional Centres and one Juvenile Remand Centre:
Hill Top (Boys)
Armadale (Girls) … currently at Diamond
Crest – Alligator Pond [2009]
Rio Cobre (Boys)
St. Andrew Remand (Boys)
Vision Statement:
The organization aims to serve the needs of its clients by facilitating their empowerment and rehabilitation.
The goal is to create a more peaceful, caring, and productive society through these efforts
Mission Statement
The organization focuses on contributing to the safety and protection of society.
It aims to keep offenders secure and support their rehabilitation and reintegration as law-abiding citizens.
Additionally, the organization seeks to develop a professional and committed staff to achieve its goals.
Correctional Process
The organization provides a relevant, structured, and therapeutic environment for those in its care.
This process aims to empower and rehabilitate individuals to become peaceful, responsible, and productive members of society.