In an effort to scale down cost of incarcerating prisoners in Britain, the government proposed that inmates serving sentences in the UK should be repatriated to the countries of their birth to complete their jail sentences.
Dissenting loudly to the idea, Jamaica’s National Security Minister Dwight Nelson said it would be a violation of rule to execute the proposal he said “persons cannot be incarcerated in Jamaica for offenses they committed outside of the country.”
Reportedly, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron was “contemplating sending persons serving sentences in the UK to the countries of origin to serve their time.”
There was a measure to provide cash incentives to incarcerated Jamaicans willing to return to the island. There were no takers to this plan.
Since that proposal was rejected, the Jamaican government has strongly opposed any intiative to return felons or law abusers the British may deport.
Nelson said Jamaica only permits individuals to be jailed in Jamaica for offenses committed in Jamaica.
Nelson said that there is an agreement between former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding about the repatriation of Jamaican convicts.
The understanding between governments allowed a reasonable, annual deportation.
“You cannot just dump more than 900 prisoners in Jamaica at one time,” Nelson said.
He explained that that most of the deportees to Jamaica come from the United States. Nevertheless, he added that the UK government spends 400 million pounds sterling to assist in rehabilitation of the deportees. Nelson said that the British will have to discuss the issue with the Jamaican government.
Statistics on foreign prisoners in Britain disclosed Jamaicans topping the list with 942. Nigeria follows with 727 and the Irish Republic, 681.
