A photo taken inside the grounds of Northward Prison in 2009.
File
Of the 63 inmates either sentenced
or on remand in Northward Prison for violent crimes as of 31 December, 2009, 56
of them were Caymanian.
The statistics were obtained from
prison officials in response to a Freedom of Information request made by the
Caymanian Compass. The information provided by prison officials is categorised,
with offences broken down into four categories.
In addition to showing that 89 per
cent of those incarcerated for violent crimes are Caymanian, the statistics
showed that 80 per cent of the men in Northward Prison for any crime were
Caymanian.
Those in prison for violent crimes
represented 37 per cent of the prison population, while 25 per cent of
prisoners are there for drug offences, eight per cent for sex crimes and 29 per
cent for other offences.
Of the number of violent crimes
listed, there were 19 prisoners incarcerated for murder or suspicion of murder,
16 of whom were Caymanian.
There were 13 prisoners
incarcerated for possession of a firearm – all of them Caymanian – and 13 inmates
in prison for robbery, all but one of them Caymanian.
Of the 43 inmates in Northward for drug
offences, there are 10 inmates incarcerated for importation of ganja, seven of
whom were foreigners.
Only two inmates were incarcerated
for possession of ganja, while 10 inmates were there for possession of cocaine.
With regard to drug possession and
consumption offenses, all 20 of those incarcerated were Caymanian, an
indication that foreigners convicted of those crimes are usually deported
rather than incarcerated.
However, 13 of the 23 prisoners –
56 per cent - incarcerated for more serious drug offences were foreigners.
Of the 15 prisoners incarcerated at
Northward for sex offences, 10 were there for rape and five were there for
indecent assault. Thirteen of the 15 sentenced or on remand for sex offenses
were Caymanian.
There are no inmates at the prison
for attempted rape, incest or defilement of a girl under 16, according to the
document.
In the category of ‘other offences’
31 people were incarcerated for aggravated burglary, 25 of whom were Caymanian.
The statistics for Fairbanks Prison
show that two-thirds of its 12 inmates were there for crimes that fall under
the category of ‘other offences’. These include arson, theft, attempted
burglary, aggravated burglary carrying an offensive weapon and wounding. The other four inmates were there for drug
offences.
All but one of the inmates are
Fairbanks are Caymanians.
The Eagle House facility for young
prisoners also had 12 inmates, 11 of whom were Caymanian.
