Our Prisoners: A Symposium

With the arrival of the loyalists after 1783, members of the Bahamian ruling class attempted to establish a more orderly, regulated and racially stratified society.  The establishment of a jail and workhouse in 1799 was advanced on the grounds of creating a more orderly and ultimately prosperous urban space.  To accomplish this end, free blacks and persons of colour were often targeted as idlers, vagabonds and persons of ill-repute.  The vulnerability of free blacks as criminals was accelerated by the concern for a growing population that were unattached to the labour demands of whites.  Indeed, police regulations attempted to curtail the movement and market activities of wage-earning persons of colour precisely because they represented an affront to the mercantile activities of whites, if not an affront to a way of life marked by coercion and paternalistic plantation values.  Though enacted at the turn of the nineteenth century, the discourse surrounding the stigmatization of black labourers as disorderly and improper remained a powerful rhetorical device that continued to gain currency well into the twentieth century.  This paper examines the ways in which views of prison and those deemed to be fit for incarceration were shaped by larger issues associated with creating a racially stratified society—a society in which blackness and criminality often became coupled in ways that negatively affected the black labouring classes.

This study assesses the spatial patterns of where current prisoners from New Providence resided and attended school in New Providence prior to their imprisonment.  Patterns are related to the socioeconomic characteristics of these neighbourhoods and perceptions of neighbourhood residents about the social capital and safety of these areas.  Mapping of prisoners’ former residences and last schools attended shows a spatial concentration in the central and north-eastern areas of New Providence.  Hotspot constituencies in terms of high numbers of prisoners either formerly living or attending a school in the constituency were identified as Bains Town & Grants Town, Englerston, Carmichael, Mt. Moriah, Fort Charlotte and Marathon.  These areas are also among the most densely populated and low income constituencies on the island.  These findings suggest that hotspot constituencies and schools should be the focus of targeted programmes aimed at reducing crime and the production of criminals.  While the study provides an initial analysis of the geography of crime, additional data provided at finer spatial scales, including location of crimes and police response times, would allow for a more extensive analysis that could be used in the fight against crime.

This paper explores the expectations of inmates in The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services Facility,  Fox Hill (formerly Her Majesty’s Prison), regarding their reintegration into society and examines the effect incarceration has on the family.  These expectations are based upon the relationship the prisoners had with family members prior to incarceration and now have while incarcerated.  This relationship is explored using quantitative and qualitative data collected in the process of interviewing persons during the IDB sponsored survey in the facility, summer 2016.  The paper also uses data from previous studies at Her Majesty’s Prison.

Among the social challenges faced by many countries in both the developing and the industrialized world, crime and the fear of crime feature prominently. Despite its idyllic nature and its proud identification with the values and principles of Christianity, The Bahamas is not exempt from this phenomenon. Crimes against the person, including rape and murder, along with those against property, like home invasions, are among a list of offences that account for the incarceration of a population comprised mainly of males, many of whom are in the prime of their lives. Programmes introduced to deal with this scourge have often focused primarily on the police and less on social agencies like education and the family. Focusing on the demographic and social characteristics of the prison population, this paper examines the relationship between education and crime. Not unlike what has been found in other jurisdictions, findings indicate a strong connection between educational attainment and crime. Most inmates did not complete high school and less than 13% had some exposure to post-secondary education.  This suggests that the lower the levels of educational attainment the more likely one is to be involved in criminal activity.  In addition, an examination of the demographic and social characteristics reveals that educational attainment acts as both an independent and an intervening variable influencing crime directly and indirectly. These findings support increased attention to education and the social environment as a means of managing and controlling crime.

In 2015, the murder rate in the Bahamas stood at 37.3 homicides per 100,000, six times the global average.  This is high even for the Caribbean region.  This paper looks at the background of those who commit violent offences, including murder, and the circumstances under which the violence occurred. Data from the IDB survey of inmates at Fox Hill revealed that the majority of convicted murderers are young men: (1) with an incomplete high school education; (2) who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol; (3) are armed with guns or knives; and (4) who find themselves in high-stress situations such as interpersonal conflicts or criminal activity.  Contrary to received wisdom, these young men are in other respects like other residents.  They share many of the same family and community backgrounds as other residents, are almost all working at the time of their crime and are more likely than other prisoners to have been satisfied with their employment and economic situations. Additionally, the data indicated that homicides tend not to be premeditated, but occur as by-products of tense circumstances.

This paper seeks to determine the social and economic circumstances surrounding the act of theft in The Bahamas.  Data from the prison project are used to examine the environment, income level and attitude to money, educational attainment, and family background of convicted thieves.  Findings indicate that thieves generally steal because their earning potential is limited as a result of low educational attainment. Thus they feel they are unable to attain their desired income purely through legal means.

Prisons serve as a place of confinement for the safety of society and punishment for those who break the law; however, the health care needs of prisoners are often neglected. Since most inmates are eventually released and return to their families and communities, their health status cannot be ignored.  To identify factors that affect the health status of prisoners, data related to the health, physical environment and mental state of prisoners at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services were examined.  The purpose of this study was to assess the health of inmates by: (a) examining aspects of personal hygiene and living conditions; (b) estimating the prevalence of respiratory and skin infections; and (c) describing the mental health of the incarcerated population at The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.  Many inmates reported requiring and receiving minimal basic health care needs, mental and or medical services.  Findings indicate that good prison health care is important as it prepares inmates for reintegration into the community by addressing issues with their physical and mental health which could, in turn, contribute to a reduction in reoffending.

Most inmates incarcerated in The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services Facility at Fox Hill do not participate in available work, education, or recreation programmes.  Rehabilitation programmes that address cognitive skills, education, employment, leisure and life skills have been shown change offenders’ behaviour and reduce their risk of reoffending and recidivism. This paper examines the ways in which inmates spend their time, that is activities they participated during their incarceration, and considers the factors that might preclude their participation in programmes available to them.

Information provided by inmates The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services Facility offers insights into an aspect of life, namely gang membership, which has not been the subject of much research in The Bahamas. This paper looks as the exposure of inmates to gangs prior to and post incarceration. The data indicate that being brought up in an environment where gangs are present increases the risk of recruitment to gangs. Inmate reports also indicate that those who were gang members were more likely to have been imprisoned for violent rather than non-violent crimes.  This highlights the disturbing nature of gang membership and suggests that schools and social services must work to protect those at greater risk of joining the ranks of violent gang offenders. Additionally, gangs were reported to operate from within the prison and gang members were more concerned than non-gang members about being victims of violence when they are released.  These findings suggest that authorities need to ensure that the prison is not a state-funded headquarters for gangs.

This paper looks at the use of illegal drugs in the lives of prisoners, prior to and during their incarceration. Data collected from inmates at The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services Facility at Fox Hill suggest that prisoners emerge from childhood homes where drug use by peers is associated with violence.  Data also suggest that drug use first occurs in their teenage years and plays a part in their crime.  Marijuana is the reported drug of choice used by inmates.  Despite the presence of a drug rehabilitation programme within the prison, reports indicate that drugs are easy to obtain and that even if inmates do not use drugs, they can be affected by second-hand smoke.  Data also indicate that gang membership was found to increase the risk of inmates using drugs, whereas level of education was found to be a protective factor.

This paper examines female inmates at the Department of Correctional Services Facility at Fox Hill. Although in some respects female inmates resemble their male counterparts, data indicate they are less likely to be imprisoned for violent crimes and less likely to be reoffenders.  Given the important place that women occupy in Bahamian homes, the findings suggest that that women’s sentences and incarceration should be modified to reflect these important differences.

The prison includes its own economy. Inmates can have accounts where funds are deposited by family and friends or through the system for work and services they render.  These funds can be used to acquire items from the prison commissary. This study raises issues associated with the prison economy.  Findings arising from the 2016 study at The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services Facility at Fox Hill suggest that payments to prisoners for services rendered in prison were below the minimum wage.  Of working inmates, 33% were paid for their services.  Additionally, inmates claimed that bribes were made to prison staff. As some of these allegations have been verified by the courts, further research should be undertaken to obtain a fuller picture of both the formal and informal prison economy.

This paper provides an overview of the criminal justice system in The Bahamas today and examines the inmates’ perceptions of the criminal justice system based on data collected for the 2016 Probation and Parole Committee Study of Inmates.  The data reveal that a large proportion of inmates do not have an accurate understanding of the criminal justice system.  Further, their understanding of the system sheds light on the discrepancies which exist between how the system is designed to work and how it actually works.

The study presents a corpus-linguistic analysis of linguistic patterns in Bahamian newspaper and web-forum discourse about prisons. The goal of the study was to uncover and categorize the salient features of newspaper and web-forum discourse about prisons in The Bahamas using the methods of content analysis and corpus linguistics.  Two corpora, one consisting of Bahamian mainstream newspaper articles mentioning the terms prison or jail, the other consisting of message posts from the now defunct web-forum website Bahamasissues.com, were developed.  Features searched for in the corpora include keywords and concordances. The study finds that Bahamian newspaper discourse surrounding prisons typically does not critically interrogate the state of the Department of Correctional Services’ faculty Fox Hill; rather, the prison is construed as the natural endpoint of the correctional process.  However, web-forum discourse surrounding prisons in The Bahamas is, on average, somewhat more critical than mainstream newspaper discourse.

Lucciana Alvarez is a Research Assistant in Citizen Security at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) who is involved in several projects on crime and violence in the Caribbean and Latin America..  She worked on the book “Restoring Paradise in the Caribbean: Combatting Violence with Numbers”.  Her principal areas of research are the economics of crime and development economics.  Before joining the IDB, Alvarez worked at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) and for the Group for the Analysis of Development, a think tank.  She holds a B.Sc. in Economics and has a Master’s degree in Economics from PUCP.

Ebonesse Bain graduated with an Associate of Arts in Law and Criminal Justice Studies, with distinction, from the University of The Bahamas.  She has assisted in research projects with The Nature Conservancy (Bahamas) and the University of The Bahamas.  She has directed and produced several videos including a radio documentary about a Bahamian amputee and a music video for a local Bahamian artist. She is expected to attend law school in Fall 2017.

Virginia Ballance has been the Nursing and Health Sciences Librarian at the Hilda Bowen Library at University of The Bahamas since 1994.  In 2005 she became Managing Editor of the University’s research publication, the International Journal of Bahamian Studies.  Miss Ballance received a B.A. (Hons) from Carleton University, an M.A. from the University of London in Soviet and East European Studies and a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Nicolette Bethel holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge. Her creative and academic work has been widely published. They include contributions to The Oxford and Cambridge May Anthologies (Oxbridge, 1993), Junkanoo and Christianity (COB, 2002), Managing Island Life (Abertay, 2006) and to numerous journals. She edited Junkanoo: Festival of The Bahamas (Macmillan Caribbean, 1991) and is Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of The Bahamas.

Ian Bethell-Bennett holds degrees in Trade Policy, Cultural Studies, English and Spanish.  His research interests include gender in development and migration.  His recent publications focus on unequal development in the Caribbean, particularly in The Bahamas and Puerto Rico. He has worked on Haitian and Cuban migration to and through The Bahamas and is currently working on a project on Statelessness in The Bahamas.  He writes in the daily newspapers on gender and development.

Rodericka Janette Collie is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at University of The Bahamas. She graduated with honours from L.N. Coakley Secondary High School in Exuma where she was also Head Girl. As an advocate for her country, she pursues ways to conduct research or volunteer at organizations that seek to better the well-being of Bahamian citizens.

Dr. Christopher Curry has a Ph.D. in History from the University of Connecticut. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of History and Chair of Social Sciences at University of The Bahamas. In 2006, he co-authored a three-volume series entitled, Social Studies for Bahamian Secondary Schools, published by Macmillan Caribbean. He also co-authored a church history book, A History of the Churches of Christ in The Bahamas (2007).  In 2017 he published the monograph, Freedom and Resistance: A Social History of Black Loyalists in The Bahamas.

Andrella Dames received an M.Sc. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom; an M.Sc. in Forensic Ballistics from Cranfield University; a B.Sc. in Biology with a minor Chemistry from the College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas) and a Certificate of Higher Education Law from the University of Essex.  She is an adjunct professor in Chemistry, Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of The Bahamas.

Shantique Durham is a senior student at the University of The Bahamas pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology (major) and History (minor).  Her interest in research developed in 2012 in her Sociology research class where she examined the economic productivity of Junkanoo.  She was given the opportunity to conduct research with Harvard University in 2015 for their sustainable Exuma programme research.

William Fielding is a member of the International Society for Anthrozoology and a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. Since 1998, he has been investigating animal-human interactions in New Providence.  He co-edited Violence in The Bahamas in 2016.  His current research focuses on crime and violence.  He is an adjunct member of faculty and works in the Office of Institutional Strengthening and Accreditation at University of The Bahamas.

Pandora Johnson is an Associate Professor of Education at University of The Bahamas and former Vice President of Research, Planning and Development at The College of The Bahamas.  She is a graduate of the Ontario Institute for Education at the University of Toronto.  Her research interests include Political Education, School Effectiveness, Intergenerational Educational Attainment and the links between Education and National Development.  As the focal point for Education for All (UNESCO), she prepared the country report on The Status of Education for All in The Bahamas.

Jessica Minnis is an Associate Professor in Social Sciences and Coordinator of the Sociology programme at University of The Bahamas. She has collaborated with several faculty members on various projects and papers related to marine protected areas, male under achievement, school-based sexual behaviour studies, community service, family, civil society and currently, the profile of sentenced inmates. She was also a member of the National Crime Commission and Steering Committee-Strategic manpower review of the Police Force.

Dale McHardy holds an M.A. in Applied Economics from The American University and an M.B.A. from the University of Miami. Mrs. McHardy has been employed at the Central Bank of The Bahamas; as an Economist/Research Officer at The Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation, director, Business Development and also as Manager, Marketing, Research and Statistics and Public Relations. Most recently she as a manager at the Business Advisory Services Unit and Corporate Secretary at The Bahamas Development Bank. She is currently a full-time faculty member at University of The Bahamas.

Ky’Shaun Miller is a former Senator of the School of Social Sciences and a graduate of the College of The Bahamas, now University of The Bahamas, with an Associate of Arts degree in Law and Criminal Justice Studies, with credit.  Currently, he is completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at University of The Bahamas.  He is an Organisational Business Consultant with a specialty focus in training in communication, sales, productivity, etc. He is the CEO and founder of K Universal, a corporation that aims at developing young entrepreneurs.

Dr. Ingrid Gibson-Mobley has been in the field of nursing for almost 30 years.  She received her Bachelor, Master’s and Ph.D. in Nursing from Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida. She has been teaching in Nursing and Allied Health Professions at the University of The Bahamas for 15 years. Her research interests include addressing issues on wellness promotion to close the health disparity gap.  Gibson-Mobley has co-authored publications on plagiarism among college students, intimate relationships among high school students and predictors of breast cancer among Bahamian women.

Dr. Theresa Moxey-Adderley has over two and a half decades of experience in early nursing in Florida and The Bahamas. She joined the Nursing faculty at University of The Bahamas in 2000, helped to coordinate a new degree programme, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and developed and facilitated several online nursing courses.  Dr. Moxey-Adderley has served as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the Association of Aids Care and is currently member of The American Men’s Study Association.

Dr. Raymond Oenbring received his Ph.D. in English Language and Rhetoric from the University of Washington, Seattle, and his B.A. from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.  He is currently an Assistant professor in English Studies at University of The Bahamas.  His research interests include corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, rhetoric and composition and digital humanities.

K. Quincy Parker is Director of the UB Capital Campaign. He has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years, has served as a diplomat for three years and worked with the College of The Bahamas’s University Transition Secretariat. In addition to serving as the Business Editor of the Nassau Guardian and The Bahama Journal/Love 97 News and as national reporter at The Tribune, his articles have been published by the Associated Press, Offshore Financial Review and other international publications. He has collaborated with Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.

Yvette Pintard-Newry holds a Master of Public Administration degree and is an Assistant Professor in Social Sciences and Coordinator of the Public Administration degree programme at University of The Bahamas. . Her areas of interest include governance in small island states, public policy and planning for change, citizenship education, leadership training, civil society and its relationship with government, and development management. Previous collaborations include an exploration of who is in prison in The Bahamas.

Wendyi Poitier-Albury is the University of The Bahamas’s Director of Employee and Industrial/Labour Relations.  She has a background in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Law and has interests in matters that deal with the nature, causes and extent of social behaviour, in particular criminal behaviour and means of prevention of such behaviour.

Bernadette Robins, a graduate of New York University Steinhardt School of Education, NY, is an Assistant Professor in Business and Hospitality Management at University of The Bahamas. She has collaborated with other faculty members, Bahamas Government and international agencies on projects.  Her research interest is in change management and business education.

Shamel Sands received her M.Sc. in Nursing Education and B.Sc. in Nursing from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. She is an Assistant Professor in Nursing and Allied Health Professions at University of The Bahamas.  Her research interests include inmate access to health care and inmates aging behinds bars.

Philip Smith obtained his Ph.D. from Loughborough University. He is co-editor of Firefly Revisited (Rowman and Littlefield) and the author of Reading Art Spiegelman (Routledge). He is currently editing three books: Gender and the Superhero Narrative, Drawing the Past: Comics and the Historical Imagination, and The Novels of Elie Wiesel.  He is an Assistant Professor of English at University of The Bahamas and an editorial board member for Literature Compass and Slayage. 

E’Thegra Symonette is an Assistant Professor at University of The Bahamas in Social Sciences.  Ms. Symonette holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. Her research interests include policy with regard to domestic violence and criminology.

Jacinth Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at University of The Bahamas. She obtained a Master of Arts degree in Spanish from Florida International University and has worked in industry, foreign affairs and offshore banking. She is interested in research involving socio-politico realities and international affairs. She has recently contributed to research associated with the National Development Plan of The Bahamas.

Dr. Adelle Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Geography at University of The Bahamas.  Her research focuses on the vulnerability of small island states to the impact of climate change. She is a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report and has published in Geography Compass and the International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management. She is the co-founder of the Climate Change Initiative and a member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Technology Executive Committee.

Anne Ulentin received her Ph.D. in History from Louisiana State University.  She currently teaches in the Faculty of Social and Educational Studies at the University of The Bahamas.  Her research interests include Atlantic History, Caribbean History, Race and Slavery, and Women’s and Gender History. Her current research examines incarceration and the intersectionality of race, ethnicity and gender in The Bahamas.

Elizabeth Joanna Williams received her Ph.D. in Nursing at Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida. She has worked on numerous Family Islands, in the Public Health Department, at Sandilands and the Geriatric Hospital as well as the Princess Margaret Hospital.  She is presently an Assistant Professor at University of The Bahamas. She is a member of the Nursing Association and has served on the Public Hospitals Authority Governance Board.

Dr. Jose Velasquez received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, U.S.A.  He is an Assistant Professor in Business and Hospitality Management at University of The Bahamas and has collaborated with other faculty members, the Bahamas Government and international agencies on projects and papers.  His research interests include developing statistical models to assess student learning, academic performance and retention.