‘If prisons only punish, crime returns’- Walrond stresses rehabilitation at conference

Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond on Monday emphasised that rehabilitation must remain central to the country’s correctional system, warning that punishment alone is not enough to reduce crime.

She made the remarks while addressing the opening of the annual senior officers’ conference of the Guyana Prison Service. She encouraged the officers to ponder the impact of their work.

“What happens inside our correctional institutions has a direct impact on what happens in our communities,” she told officers gathered at the conference.

Walrond cautioned that a system focused only on punishment will not effectively address crime.

“If prisons only punish, crime returns. But when persons rehabilitate, reform, and reintegrate, communities become safer.

“… For too long in many societies, [the focus on corrections] was treated as the forgotten arm of the justice system, a place where people were simply locked away and forgotten, but modern governance demands something different,” she said.

The minister explained that the government is committed to modernising the prison system to ensure it is professional, accountable, secure, and focused on rehabilitation. She added that achieving this goal requires investment in infrastructure, stronger operational systems, and enhanced training and leadership development within the service.

Walrond also urged senior officers to recognise their critical role in driving institutional transformation.

“Institutional transformation requires leadership. It cannot happen without it. The senior officers gathered today, your role is pivotal. You are the institution builders,” she said.

According to Walrond, corrections is not simply about enforcing rules but about shaping the discipline, culture, and standards across the prison service.

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