Bordelais Correctional Facility

The Bordelais Correctional Facility is the only prison in Saint Lucia. It is located near the town of Dennery.[1][2] Built in 2003, it has a capacity of 500 inmates.[3][4]

Bordelais Correctional Facility
LocationDennery, Saint Lucia
Coordinates13.8953°N 60.8945°W / 13.8953; -60.8945
StatusOperational
Capacity500
Opened2003
Managed byMinistry of Home Affairs and National Security[1]
DirectorHilary Herman[1]

The prison housed 525 prisoners as of June 2017. In 2017, the prison population rate was approximately 279 prisoners per 100,000 citizens. Only about 2.5% of the prisoners were female, less than 1% were juveniles, and 3.0% were foreign. Almost half of the inmates are on remand or pre-trial detention.[5] The literacy rate in Bordelais is only five percent.[6]

Human Rights in Bordelais

Prisoners in Bordelais are allowed to have contact and visitation with their families. They are provided with educational programs and technical training. They are allowed to participate in re recreational activities. The prison contains a farm that provides the majority of the prison kitchen's vegetables and herbs.

Although it is prohibited by the Saint Lucian constitution, prisoners and suspects have reported physical abuse by the police and prison officers. The abuse occurred during arrest or once the prisoners had arrived to the detention center. Between July 2015 and July 2016, over 100 complaints were filed against the police by civilians. The main complaint was abuse of authority. Progress on the complaints was not well monitored due to limited resources in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.[7]

Education in Bordelais

Education in the prison, although provided, could be improved. The largest problem noted is that officers in the prison were not properly trained or fully staffed. Officers were also upset that the prisoners were being provided with free education when training for the officers was so expensive. The prison is also overfilled, and the lack of space prevents proper education.[6]

References
  1. "International Centre for Prison Studies". Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  2. Newman, Graeme R.; Mahesh Nalla; Janet P. Stamatel; Hung-En Sung; Doris C. J. Chu (2010). Crime and Punishment Around the World. ABC-CLIO. p. 300. ISBN 978-0313351334.
  3. "Prison break inquiry". BBC. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  4. Bergner, Jeffrey T. ed. (2008). Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008: Vols. I and II: Joint Committee Print, U. S. House of Representatives and U. S. Senate. Diane Publishing. p. 2873. ISBN 978-1437905229.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  5. "St. Lucia | World Prison Brief". prisonstudies.org. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  6. Niles, B. (1997). The current status of prison education in some Caribbean states. Convergence, 30.
  7. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017". www.state.gov. Retrieved 30 April 2018.


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