CASTRIES – National Security Minister Hermangild Francis has sought to downplay suggestions that the prisoners being brought to St Lucia from the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean islands are high risk.
“People are saying high risk. I have not seen anything indicating that they are high risk. All I’ve been told is that they’re prisoners that need shelter. So we have accepted to house as many as we could,” Francis said, ahead of plans to visit the prison on Friday.
Seven prisoners from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) arrived here on Tuesday along with three others from the Turks and Caicos Islands and another ten on Wednesday, bringing to 27 the total number of criminals currently being jailed on the island from the British Overseas Territories.
It’s unclear what crimes the prisoners committed or how long will they be kept here and Francis could not confirm whether or not more prisoners would be coming to serve their sentences in St Lucia.
But he said that St Lucia is willing to accommodate up to 40 prisoners given that the current low occupancy level at Bordelais Correctional prison, away from local prison population. (CMC)
