‘GP’ inmates to receive visits from loved ones

The highly anticipated annual family day which has allowed some inmates at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre to spend quality time with relatives, especially children, will return this year.

The Department of Correctional Services reportedly gave the OK for the resumption of the treat at the facility, more popularly known as 'GP'. The activities were scaled back in recent years due to COVID-19.

Custos of Kingston, Steadman Fuller, told THE STAR that the event will be extended to the South Camp Road Correctional Centre which houses women inmates. In addition to giving the inmates gifts and talking with them, there are plans to hold a concert. The day is set for Thursday, December 15.

"Because of COVID, we have just been able to hand packages to the prison authorities who, in turn, hand them to the inmates because we have not been having face-to-face, as in the past. So we are still talking and hoping that now that COVID is still with us, but the impact has been abated somewhat, we thought that maybe they could still let some families come out and meet their inmates," he said.

Fuller opined that his greater concern is for those inmates who have not had any visitors or contact with the outside world for decades, and so have no source of getting toiletries or other essentials.

"Things are so bad that their clothes wear out and so they hardly have anything to come out to see you with. Most times whenever we have them come out to a treat or so, we have to send, in advance, some of the basic stuff that they can wear like a vest or something like," he said.