Most prisoners from West Kingstown

A statistical report from Her Majesty’s Prisons shows that of the 15 electoral constituencies, West Kingstown has the most constituents in prison.

The document, a prison status as at December 17th, 2018, was presented to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court at the close of the period of sitting of the criminal assizes earlier this week. It shows West Kingstown top  the chart  with 60 constituents in prison.

The West Kingstown prison population represents 12.71 percent of the total 472 inmates at the prisons.

Following West Kingstown is its neighbouring constituency South Leeward, going to the Leeward side of the island, which has 51 constituents in prison representing 10.81 percent of the overall number of inmates.

The constituency with the third-highest number of constituents in prison is Central Kingstown, which shares boundary with West Kingstown, with 46 constituents in prison representing  9.75 percent of the overall 472 inmates at Her Majesty’s Prisons.

It is important to note that the constituencies with the thre highest prison populations are connected by boundaries and that two of them – West and Central Kingstown – have areas which have been officially declared crime “hotspots.” In West Kingstown, the Edinboro-Ottley Hall area – which involve two connecting villages – has been declared a “hotspot.” A mobile police station is currently located there. In Central Kingstown, Paul’s Avenue and Redemption Sharpes were declared hotspots and mobile police stations were once located in those areas for some time as a result of frequent gun violence. The shootings in Paul’s Avenue, however, has subsided for few years now in terms of the frequency. Further, the constituency of South Leeward, though it does hot have a village or community that has officially been declared a “hotspot,” it is well known that Lowmans Hill is connected to the mountains where significant marijuana cultivation has been taking place, and that the coastal villages in the constituency have had significant criminal activities.

Together, the three top-ranking constituencies have 157 constituents in prison representing 33.27 percent of the 472 inmates population.

It is equally interesting to note though that that constituencies in the north – North Leeward and North Windward – which have adjoining mountains where the largest marijuana cultivation take place and whose communities, admittedly, have grown and developed extensively as a result of marijuana cultivation and trade, are among the constituencies with the lower prison populations. North Leeward has 24 constituents in prison which represent 5.08 percent of the total inmates population; and North Windward has 22 constituents in prison which represent 4.67 percent of the overall population in prison.

The constituencies with the lowest population in prison are those in the Grenadines. The Southern Grenadines constituency has 13 constituents representing 2.75 percent of the 472 inmates in prison; and the Northern Grenadines constituency has 9 constituents in prison representing 1.90 percent of the total prison population.

The prison populations of the other constituencies are: Marriaqua which has 40 constituents representing 8.47 percent; North Central Windward which has 36 constituents representing 7.62 percent; Central Leeward which has 32 constituents representing 6.77 percent; South Central Windward and South Windward each has 31 constituents  representing 6.57 percent; East Kingstown which has 26 constituents representing 5.51 percent; and East St George has 21 constituents representing 4.05 percent.

The prisons have 11 non-nationals. Six of those non-nationals are from Grenada. Of the other 5, Trinidad and Tobago has 2 and 1 each are from St Lucia, Martinique and Guyana.