JFJ seeks clarity on Gov’t plan to build maximum security prison

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is calling for greater clarity surrounding the government’s proposed plan to construct a maximum security facility. In a press release on Tuesday, JFJ said it welcomes “the Government’s renewed commitment to replace Jamaica’s troubling correctional infrastructure which suffer from overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, poor ventilation, and structural risks identified after seismic events.” According to JFJ, these conditions undermine rehabilitation, endanger inmates and staff, and make new, modern capacity necessary. However, the group is seeking details on who the facility is intended for, the nature of any public-private partnership, and what safeguards will be in place to protect inmates.

“The Government has described the proposed facility as a maximum-security prison, but there is currently little public information about the basis for that designation or the population it is intended to accommodate. Tower Street and St Catherine already carry a maximum-security classification. That label describes the institutions as they stand.

It does not, by itself, tell the public how many people held there are assessed as high-security inmates — those who, if they escaped, would pose a danger to the public — or how many remain there because medium-security capacity is limited,” JFJ said. JFJ noted there is no current public breakdown of the population by risk classification. “At the end of August 2026, Jamaica had 3,616 adults in custody, including 2,255 convicted inmates.

In February 2026, Commissioner of Corrections Brigadier Radgh Mason, in providing a snapshot of the country’s correctional demographics, noted that, contrary to popular belief, the majority were not persons convicted of violent crimes. Also of note, over 200 mentally ill inmates are also within these facilities. Stand Up for Jamaica has estimated that only 300–400 people are highly dangerous or predatory offenders, noting JFJ has not independently verified this data.

If the intention is to separate inmates by risk, JFJ asks the Government to say what classification of prison will be built: a facility for the smaller number who meet the high-security test, or one for the thousands now held in institutions labelled maximum security, who are not necessarily high-security inmates,” the group added.