HGP Nightly News – According to President Irfaan Ali, the goal shouldn’t be making the prison system better, but rather making sure fewer young people end up there at all. That was the central message on Monday as he addressed the Senior Officers’ Conference of the Guyana Prison Service, unveiling plans for what he termed a “prison avoidance system” targeting young people at risk of entering the criminal justice system.
“Rehabilitation is important,” Ali acknowledged. “But before we get to prison, how do we avoid getting there?”
The question cuts to the heart of a shifting strategy, one that recognizes that the forces pulling young people toward crime are changing. Greater access to technology, increased connectivity with gangs, and exposure to criminal networks are reshaping the environment in which Guyanese youth are growing up.
The President announced that a specialized team will be assembled in the coming weeks to spearhead the initiative. He described it as a “high-powered group of experienced persons” tasked with developing a comprehensive approach to prevention. Ali also used the occasion to elevate the prison service’s standing within the national security framework.
“Our prison service is part of our national security architecture,” he stated. “It is not inferior to the Guyana Police Force. It is not inferior to the Guyana Defence Force.” The urgency behind the new focus, Ali explained, stems from Guyana’s growing economic profile. As larger economies tighten, criminal networks are being squeezed and forced to seek new territory.
“When they’re pressed, they look for new grounds,” he said. “We have to identify where those grounds are, and here in Guyana we know with the growth in the economy, there is a natural attraction.”
The President stressed that any effective prevention strategy must be guided by hard data and real-world awareness, not guesswork.
“I hope that at this level we are having access to that data that allows us to do the analysis so that we can craft measures based on data, based on reality, based on the awareness of what surrounds us,” he said.
