Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

ALMOST 15 years after three men suffocated in a cell at the Constant Spring Police Station in St. Andrew, overcrowding remains a problem at many of Jamaica's 82 lock-ups.

Raymond Ramdat, the director of facilities and property, is head of a team assigned by the Ministry of National Security to oversee the refurbishing of dilapidated stations. He said improvements have been made to most of the major lock-ups. He noted, however, that more work needs to be done atlock-ups in crime-prone areas.

"Things have improved but we need larger lock-ups to meet the increase in crime, like three to a county," Mr. Ramdat told The Gleaner recently. "We definitely need larger facilities like the Horizon Remand Centre to hold at least 500 persons."

Mr. Ramdat said lock-ups in Police Area Three (Manchester and Clarendon), Four (the Corporate Area) and Five (St. Thomas and St. Catherine) still experience overcrowding. Currently, he said cells in larger lock-ups at the Central and Half-Way-Tree precincts are able to accommodate 19 persons.

Police stations repaired

Mr. Ramdat's team has repaired police stations in the 12 police divisions since 1999. To date, he estimates that the project has cost over J$600 million, half of which was spent on the Horizon Remand Centre in west Kingston.

He said unruly inmates add to the challenge of the job.

"It's not easy to maintain these places. The prisoners damage pipes, toilets, lights and we are the ones who have to pay for it," Mr. Ramdat stated.

He said the team - which also includes a quantity surveyor - has completed major refurbishing at lock-ups located in high-crime areas, such as Half-Way Tree, Kingston Central, Denham Town, Hunts Bay and Constant Spring.

Stations in rural parishes, including Portland, Trelawny and Westmoreland, have also been renovated. Mr. Ramdat said his team is currently doing renovation on stations in Manchester.

The death of three men at the Constant Spring station in October 1992 highlighted sub-human conditions at some police stations. Approximately 19 persons were placed inside the poorly ventilated eight by seven feet concrete cell.

Twelve of the detainees brought civil actions against the Government and were each awarded J$200,000. In 1999, the Government accepted liability for the death of Agana Barrett (one of the three deceased) and reached an out-of-court settlement with his family.