Prison gets new boss

Governor Duncan Taylor revealed he and Police Commissioner David Baines believe there has been communication between prisoners and individuals committing serious crimes in Grand Cayman, moments before the unveiling a state-of-the-art body scanning machine at Her Majesty’s Prison at Northward Friday. 

The governor, however, said the newly implemented Body Orifice Security Scanner was not in response to this belief, though its introduction is timely. 

“This is a little gift from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which we feel will help to make the prison a safer place for all. It is also my hope that we will be able to stop communication with people and Northward and people in the community committing crimes,” Mr. Taylor said. 

The BOSS chair is used to complement normal searching techniques. It consists of a non-intrusive and harmless scanning system within a moulded chair, designed to detect metallic objects, such as mobile phones and their component parts or weapons concealed within body cavities, the abdominal area and other areas around the body. 

“We will be able to identify items, which can be missed in a walk-through scanner and the machine narrows down the area of concern once something is located,” said Prison Director Dwight Scott, who added that, “The beauty of it is that the BOSS chair is mobile and allows us to affect different areas. If a person is going to court or hospital and not just coming into the prison but going out.” 

The director said the prison searches aggressively for contraband and to the staff’s knowledge, there was not a great amount of weapons in the prison.  

However, he did caution that, “With CCTV showing persons lobbing items over the prison fence in the small hours of the morning, this machine is a welcome addition to our efforts.” 

Cell phones represent one of the biggest headaches for the prison, according to Mr. Scott, who said the new machine would be able to pick up such things as subscriber identification module or SIM cards, which are getting smaller and smaller as technology progresses. 

Visitors, staff and prisoners will be searched and the machine will be used as often as possible, according to the director. 

The magnetic field generated by the new scanner is significantly below the required guidelines recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection and can be used on pregnant women and individuals fitted with pacemakers.  

At a cost of $7,500 to the FCO, the scanner is capable of detecting items hidden in the foot-area, rectum, mouth and back.  

A recommendation by prison director Dwight Scott and his executive board led to a bill to amend the Prisons Law to create the offence of smuggling and “incidental and connected purposes” earlier this year.  

Previously, those caught taking contraband into the prison could be charged only with possession of the material in question, and that charge could only have been brought in instances where the items were illegal. In circumstances where the contraband was in the form of a cell phone or other items that may not have been classed as illegal in the law, the prison itself might have had to impose its own sanctions and punishment, such as terminating a visitor’s and/or prisoner’s privileges.  

Under the new law, more clear terms for the word ‘smuggling’ have been inserted into the Prisons Law.  

This states that, “Any person who a. brings throws or in any manner introduces or conveys into any prison; b. conveys to any prisoner while in custody outside of a prison; c. with the intent that it shall come into the possession of a prisoner, deposits outside of a prison; or d. carries out of any prison, an article or thing, unless he is authorised to do so by or under this law or by the director, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $15,000 and to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.”