By: Spokesman Newsroom

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Monday 19th May 2025)-Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Five, Shawn Richards of the opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM), has offered to the government the idea of installing a telephone system at His Majesty’s Prison (HMP).

Such came about during his contribution to the debate on the Prison Amendment Bill (2025) on Thursday 15th May 2025 at the sitting of the National Assembly held at Government Headquarters.

“While it is that we are increasing penalties, I think we also need to look at some of the other incentives that would perhaps deter prisoners from wanting some of these things,” Richards remarked.

According to him: “I recall when I was a member of Cabinet that one of the ideas which had come before the Cabinet is that of putting some sort of telephone system within the prison so that those who may want to call, for example, maybe a lawyer, a son, a daughter, and just recently, for example, we had Mother’s Day.”

The bill-passed into law-includes increase in penalties, raising the fine for bringing contraband (including cell phones) into the prison from $1,000 to $50,000 and introducing a prison sentence from six months to ten years which Richards, who is a former Deputy Prime Minister, says is “somewhat drastic.”

“Madam Speaker, I must confess that I clearly understand the intent of this particular piece of legislation. The fact is that many of us have seen and have heard of the instances of persons who would have attempted to take contraband into our prisons,” he stated.

He continued: “As a matter of fact in some instances, the very same persons who would have had the responsibility for upholding law and order here in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis have been some of the persons guilty of committing these particular offenses, and when you have persons who have a responsibility for upholding law and order, assisting those who have been in prison for various crimes which have been committed, you wonder about the seriousness of these persons, and it also to some extent, it gives you an understanding as to why some other persons would actually engage in such. It really and truly sets a bad example.”

“In looking at what is being amended, it clearly shows that the current piece of legislation in terms of penalties doesn’t really offer much of a deterrent in terms of saying to persons that if you commit this particular offense, this is the penalty or penalties that you are going to pay for doing so,” he added.

Commenting on the revised fines and prison term, Richards stated: “Initially when I looked at the legislation I said to myself that up to ten years in prison and a fine of $50,000, it sounds somewhat drastic because $50,000 isn’t a little bit of money to find. On the other hand, I suppose if you know what the penalties are, then you avoid doing the particular crime.”

Richards used the opportunity to further share: “I really was between two minds because sometimes for me, I find that rather than looking at incentives as to prevent persons from doing particular things, we come up with penalties. And that for me is a little too far off in terms of finding penalties, punishing persons rather than looking at solutions, other solutions, other alternatives to change the behaviour of persons.”

He revealed that he had personally received phone calls from individuals in prison.

 “The number shows up on my phone. I answer the phone, and quite surprisingly, it’s someone in the prison. I’ve not been involved in any act whatsoever to take any contraband in the prison or engage in any sort of illegal activities. I’ve been called for other reason. They thought about it.”

He recalled a previous discussion in Cabinet during his time in government about the possibility of providing prisoners with regulated access to communication: “What crossed my mind is that yes, we do have programs to try and rehabilitate persons who are in prison. You wonder ‘Well, how these persons got access to a cell phone?’ I recall when I was a member of Cabinet that one of the ideas which had come before the Cabinet is that of putting some sort of telephone system within the prison so that those who may want to call, for example, maybe a lawyer, a son, a daughter, and just recently, for example, we had Mother’s Day.”

Richards said this idea motivated his contribution to the debate. “So while I wasn’t minded to speak on this particular piece of legislation, that’s one of the things which came to my mind and really motivated me to make a contribution on this particular piece of legislation.”

He added: “While it is that we are increasing penalties, I think we also need to look at some of the other incentives that would perhaps deter prisoners from wanting some of these things.”

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that because someone is in prison, and the person has the need to use a cellphone for example that it is to do something which is of criminal intent,” he noted.

Richards continued: “I mentioned, for example, that just last week we had Mother’s Day. And as we speak about rehabilitation of prisoners, then we need also to think about how we give some of them perhaps an opportunity, a chance to show that they are really moving in that particular direction? How do you facilitate a prisoner, for example, being able to call a mother and to say happy Mother’s Day?”

“How do you facilitate a prisoner whose son or daughter or some other close loved one is celebrating a birthday to simply use the phone and to say happy birthday. Nothing more,” he said.

Acknowledging the need for regulation, he stated: “I am aware that you are going to need to put certain policies, certain procedures in place to ensure that indeed the call is one that doesn’t contravene any of our laws. It is like a call with any intent to engage in any sort of nefarious activity.”

“So while I understand the intent of the particular legislation, and I would want to discourage persons from taking contraband into the prison, I would also want to encourage the government, I would want to encourage our society to look at what else can be done to deter persons from engaging in this sort of behaviour and to ensure that, as I said, if it says that you want to make a call, perhaps, which has no ill intent to it, that you are to do so. I believe that is one of the ways in which one perhaps can perhaps reduce that need for a person’s feeling that in the case of a cell phone, for example, that you need to take a cell phone into the prison,” Richards stated.

He expressed uncertainty about how phone access currently works inside the facility: “I don’t know what transpires in there in terms of if you want to make a call, who the [illicit] phone belongs to, how do you go about using it, do you have to pay the owner for using it and that sort of thing…the illicit phone, I don’t know how those sort of transactions perhaps take place within the prison.”

Richards concluded: “But if it is that you are paying someone who has an illicit phone to use their phone, then the money is better off going towards your keep in the prison rather than paying someone else within the prison to do so. Hopefully this brief presentation will provide some food for thought in terms of what else we can do to remove some of the incentives for persons trying to take contraband into the prison. May it please you, Madam Speaker.”