At the Services Medal Ceremony officers of the Barbados Prison Service were reminded to maintain their “high level of professionalism” and “good conduct” while executing their jobs.
Thirty-six officers were lauded and recognised for their professionalism and longstanding contribution to the island’s adult penal institution with an awards ceremony at the HMP Dodds, St Philip.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Deborah Payne, Superintendent of Prisons Lieutenant Colonel John Nurse and Assistant Superintendents of Prisons Cedrick Moore and DeCarlo Payne were in attendance.
The officers received Services Medal of Honour which is presented to persons who have served diligently and displayed exemplary conduct during 15 years in the service. Seven of the officers received a clasp to the Services Medal of Honour for their ten-year contribution to the service. Additional clasps are awarded after every five-year period thereafter.
Superintendent of Prisons Lieutenant Colonel John Nurse instructed the officers gathered to uphold their decorum and abide by the standards advised in the Prison Act. He encouraged them to be models for the prison population and the wider Barbadian public.
“Exemplary conduct is measured through the behaviours we display; it is measured through our deportment and the manner in which we go about performing our duty, so then if your conduct is exemplary then it means you are fulfilling [your] role in the Barbados Prison Service according to the Vision Statement’s standards. You are providing a service of which the public of Barbados can be proud,” said the Superintendent of Prisons.
“Performing the role of a prison officer efficiently requires discipline, a high level of professionalism and the zest for continued self-development,” he further added.
Nurse also urged the officers to strive towards the goal of improving the lives of inmates and reducing the rate of recidivism at the correctional institution through rehabilitation programmes and educational activities.
“Good work achieves positive results. As a result, therefore, our collective performances will be gauged through a reduction in recidivism, a high level of participation by inmates in the rehabilitation programmes and the success stories of those who participated in these programmes and who are now gainfully employed and living stable, fruitful lives.
“This should further be realised with the further inclusion of a greater number of remand inmates in the correctional programming effort as part of the revised rehabilitation strategy, the increase in the number of passes attained at CXC and CAPE examinations and the increased achievement of specialty prizes at NIFCA – all evidence of the positive results of the dedication and commitment of the staff to fulfilling our core purpose of reducing re-offending through the management and rehabilitation of those in our custody,” he said.
