Custodial facilities on the Cayman Islands were starting to improve, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing a report of an announced inspection of the two island jails, police custody cells and court cells.

The Cayman Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory comprising a number of islands in the Caribbean. In May 2014, HM Inspectorate of Prisons received its second invitation from the Governor of the islands, responsible for internal security, to inspect custodial facilities. The first inspection took place in 2012 when inspectors were highly critical of the very poor treatment and conditions experienced by prisoners. This more recent inspection took place in early 2015. In many respects, treatment and conditions were still poor but improvement was evident. The prisons now had a new Director who had made a significant difference. There was more accountability and the indifference observed in 2012 was being challenged through new procedures and more energetic leadership.

There are two prisons located on Grand Cayman. HMP Northward holds around 200 men of varying status. HMP Fairbanks is smaller and held 14 women at the time of its inspection. Both prisons were safer, although many prisoners, both men and women, reported that they had felt unsafe while in custody and had experienced victimisation from both staff and other prisoners. The availability of illegal drugs, particularly marijuana, in Northward remained high.

Both prisons were in very poor condition: Fairbanks resembles a storage facility and was an oppressive environment while Northward was decrepit and squalid. Prisoners retained very mixed views about the staff. Prisoners continued to experience good levels of unlock from their cells, but too few engaged in purposeful activity that might better equip them for resettlement.

Inspectors also visited the Royal Cayman Island Police Service custody suites at George Town, Bodden Town and the police marine unit base, as well as the court cells in George Town. There had been a number of improvements in the way in which custody processes were structured and carried out since the previous inspection. However, the cells at George Town police station, described in 2012 as ‘barely fit for human habitation’ had not changed. A new custody suite was almost complete but its opening had been delayed.

The custody suite at the courthouse also remained unchanged and inadequate. Custody practice across the board suffered from fragility and inconsistency because of the lack of clear formal policies and standards, which applied both to police working practices and to coordination and cooperation between partner agencies.

Nick Hardwick said:

“The independent inspection of places of custody – institutions that are normally hidden from public view – is about transparency and good governance. It allows communities to be better informed about what are important public services. The Cayman authorities have demonstrated confidence and courage in engaging in this process despite not yet being signatories to OPCAT. Northward and Fairbanks were still not good prisons. There was much to do to make them better. The prisons need urgent investment, improved joint working with other public services and strong support for the Director. That said, improvement was evident and the prisons were more hopeful places.

“This in part illustrated the benefits of inspection, although the distance still to be travelled reinforced our view first expressed in 2012, that custodial facilities need to be subject to regular, independent preventive monitoring in order to ensure that human rights are upheld and that meaningful accountability is maintained.”

Notes to Editors:

1. Read the report on HMP Fairbanks and HMP Northward and read the report on Police custody suites and court cells in the Caymand Islands.
2. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
3. This announced inspection was carried out from 8-16 January 2015.
4. The Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, are not a signatory in their own right to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). Areas of detention on the islands are not subject to regular independent monitoring. HM Inspectorate of Prisons was invited by the Governor of the Islands to undertake inspections of both police and court custody consistent with our inspections in England and Wales.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons in HMI Prisons Press Office on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview.