It is a new year and Belizeans might just be asking themselves how this year will turn out in terms of crime and violence. Well for the Kolbe Foundation who manages the Belize Central Prison in Hattieville, good news has been brewing since last year. Love News visited with the Superintendent of the Kolbe Foundation, Taheera Ahmad, who spoke to us of the tasks undertaken by the foundation and what is being done to improve the service.

A variety of adjustments are also being done to insure that there is better security and less chance to encourage mischief among the inmates.

Since Ahmad mentioned rehabilitation for inmates as one of the major factors that Kolbe focuses on, we asked her if there is any way in which they conduct follow ups with inmates that have left the prison, to see if indeed they have rehabilitated.

Ahmad says that for 2012 their main focus continues to be rehabilitation and security and they hope that their officers can beat the records for last year of course by providing them with more and better training.

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Kolbe’s prison contract up for review – 2011 audit ongoing

The Kolbe Foundation, an organization founded by Rotarians in Belize, has been managing the Belize Central Prison since 2002. Minister of National Security John Saldivar told Amandala on Thursday that the Kolbe contract with the Government of Belize is up for review and they will soon be undertaking a comprehensive exercise, to review both the terms and conditions of the contract, and the prison regulations.

Kolbe chairman John Woods told us Friday that the contract expires in August this year, but he said he could not supply us with specifics.

He referred us to prison CEO Earl Jones, who confirmed that the contract period closes on July 31, 2012.

CEO Jones told us, “We submitted a report card to the ministry of what we had achieved over the past [5 years] and the fulfillment of our contractual agreement.”

He said that this was submitted just before the 2012 elections.

“We are awaiting the minister’s response as to whether they are going ahead with the renewal of the contract or whether they will be asking for additional information,” Jones added.

He also informed us that there is an ongoing audit being done by Marion Usher, CPA, for the year 2011.

The first Kolbe contract spanned 2002-2007, and the existing contract 2007-2012. In the 2011-2012 budget, the Government of Belize allocated $7.2 million for prison services provided by Kolbe, almost equivalent to the amount budgeted the year before.

CEO Jones said that what government actually pays Kolbe depends on the head count: $13.50 a day per inmate.

The prison population, said Jones, is 1292 – the lowest since 2007/2008. There are just over 300 people on remand, 150 of them for murder, he added.

The per-inmate allocation, said Jones, should cover food, welfare of the inmate, providing of officers and some capital expenses, rehab services, and general admin costs.

The prison has 246 staff, and 180 are security officers, he explained.

Jones said that he has been in communication with the offices of the Chief Magistrate and Chief Justice, informing them of the inmates who have been on remand for extended periods, as far back as 2005-2006, which, he stressed, is a breach of their constitutional right to get a trial within reasonable time.

The number of inmates on remand has been cut down by about 100 since last year, Jones noted, adding that last year, nonetheless, saw more convictions.

The Reporter