BY INGRID BROWN Sunday Observer staff reporter
The Correctional Services Department says it will complete, by the end of this month, the delivery of 1,000 wooden desks and benches ordered for schools by the education ministry under a $3.8 million contract.


In fact, the ministry has been so pleased with the work done by inmates of the Tamarind Farm and St Catherine adult correctional centres, that it intends to send more jobs their way.

“The intention is that when they are finished with this initial order we will give them a repeat order as an ongoing situation as long as they continue to perform satisfactory,” said Lauriston Wilson, acting director of project management and technical services in the ministry.

The desks and benches, Wilson said, would be delivered to schools in close proximity to the prisons.
The Correctional Services Department, which signed the contract in June, has already delivered the major portion of the order, and has assured the ministry that the remainder will be completed by the end of this month.

Commissioner of Corrections Major Richard Reese told the Sunday Observer that the department was expected to provide additional services to the ministry, as plans are currently underway for the inmates to start repairs on a number of metal furniture.

“We have to first complete our existing orders and improve our technology and throughput, because we are going into assembly line-type production and we need to take it one step at a time,” he said.

Gile Campbell, acting deputy commissioner of human resources and community services, said 30 inmates are involved in manufacturing the furniture at both adult correctional centres.

He said that the inmates making the furniture would receive a stipend from the $3.8 million, while the remainder will be reinvested in the programme.
“We want to use the rest to equip our workshops, because some of these machines are very expensive to buy and to maintain,” he said.

Campbell added that there are also plans to equip the other woodwork shops at Richmond Farm, Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre and at the South Camp Rehabilitation Centre.
“We need to fully equip these so all our inmates can be involved in projects of this nature,” he said.

The cabinet-making project, he explained, is part of the department’s rehabilitation pro-gramme, which has been ongoing for a number of years. However, this was the first time that the department had landed such a huge contract.

“Now, we want to expand this project so more people can be involved in it,” said Campbell.
He pointed out that the inmates would normally make beds, settees, and dressers among other items of furniture for display at the annual Hardware Merchants Association exposition, as well as for staff members and other interested persons.

Producing the school desks and benches was, however, a first for the inmates.
“It is the largest contract we have had to date, and we intend to repeat it with the ministry on a continuous basis,” Campbell said, adding that it is a lucrative contract which the Correctional Department does not want to lose.

Already, there are plans in place for correctional officers to become level two certified cabinet makers through the HEART/NTA programme. They will, in turn, train the inmates to be certified at level one.

Major Reese, meanwhile, said there were a number of lessons learnt from having received such a huge order.
“You have to have storage for the finished goods prior to delivery, and you also have to look at your capital outlay to complete the work and provide credit prior to being paid,” he said.

Reese said it was the Correctional Services Production Company that approached the education ministry with the idea of having the inmates manufacture furniture for the schools in order to have them engaged in meaningful work.

“When you listen to the public, they always give a lot of suggestions, voicing their concern about engaging inmates in work, and we think this is an excellent project because you don’t have any security risk, as even high-risk inmates can engage in this activity,” Reese said.
He said the inmates’ self-worth and self-esteem have increased, as they are both learning a skill and receiving a stipend.
Both local and foreign inmates are involved in the work.

browni@jamaicaobserver.com