Legal News

Under an agreement signed between the UK and Jamaica on Wednesday (30/09/15), more than 300 Jamaican prisoners serving time in British prisons will be returned to Jamaica to serve their sentence from 2020 onwards.

The agreement allows the compulsory transfer of prisoners who have been handed down sentences of four years or more and who have 18 months or more left to serve in custody.

Government figures show that, up to 30 June 2015, there were 619 Jamaican nationals in jail in England and Wales, with around 60% serving sentences of either four years or more, including indeterminate sentences (a sentence which does not specify the length of a jail sentence or date for release).

Statistics show that 69% of prisoners who are Jamaican nationals are serving sentences for violent crime and drug offences.

The Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Jamaica is expected to save British taxpayers around £10 million a year once the first prisoners are returned from 2020 onwards. The average annual cost of a prison place in the UK is £25,900.

As part of the Compulsory Transfer Agreement, the UK will provide £25 million from the government’s existing aid budget to help fund the construction of a new prison in Jamaica, which will be able to house 1,500 prisoners.

The funding resolves the issue of the conditon of prisons in Jamaica, which had been a barrier to an agreement between the two governments.

It is anticipated that the new prison will be completed by 2020 – and from then compulsory returns for convicted prisoners who are Jamaican nationals will begin.

After the agreement was announced, Prime Minister David Cameron – who has been visiting Jamaica this week – said:

“It is absolutely right that foreign criminals who break our laws are properly punished – but this shouldn’t be at the expense of the hardworking British taxpayer.

“That’s why this agreement is so important. It will mean Jamaican criminals are sent back home to serve their sentences, saving the British taxpayer millions of pounds, but still ensuring justice is done.

“And it will help Jamaica, by helping to provide a new prison – strengthening their criminal justice system.”

Currently Jamaican nationals account for the third largest group of prisoners in UK jails.
The UK government also has compulsory transfer agreements in place with Albania, Nigeria, Somaliland, Rwanda, and Libya.

Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers

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For expert legal advice on criminal charges and prisoners’ rights, call Duncan Lewis crime lawyers on 020 7923 4020.

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