The Guyana Prison Service is seeing a drop in the number of repeat offenders, according to Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliott. He told the opening of the Guyana Prison Officers’ Conference that Guyana recorded the lowest number of repeat offenders in the entire Caribbean last year.

He believes various skill development programmes done in the prison are offering opportunities to inmates to make them more prepared when they are released.

Mr. Elliott told the conference that at least 1000 prisoners are exposed annually to training programmes in technical and vocational areas, as well as entrepreneurial skills and academics. 

He said the prison population is also being enrolled on the Guyana Digital school platform to further improve personal skills.

“Overall, these efforts contribute significantly to the decline of persons committing offences and returning to prison. Hence, Guyana has recorded the lowest revivalism rate of 14% within the Caribbean region and we are working to further reduce this number,” Elliott noted.

Further, the Prison Director said the Prison Service has been working with the National Data Management Authority to digitize the records of prisoners and prison officers.

He said 90% of the prison population records are digitized with the remainder will be completed shortly.

Mr. Elliott has also stated that a number of prison officers are currently undergoing academic training at various levels.

“With this level of achievement, the Guyana Prison Service is certainly on a path to create a positive impact and to improve staff development and to adequately prepare prisoners with successful reintegration,” Mr. Elliott said.

The Prison Director said 2025 was a pivotal year for the service, stating that the service reviewed the legal framework governing the Prison Service including the reviewing of the prison Act, Standing Orders and Strategic plan.

“These measures were intended to ensure that the service operates and function within a modern, acceptable, best practice framework and in keeping with the government’s overall policy directions. Keys achievements for the year 2025 saw the completion of the new Prison headquarters building at Lusignan, the completion of the command center as well as the upgrading of the CCTV system phase 1, in keeping with the safe country initiative,” the Prison Director noted.

Elliot said this year’s conference is focusing on several reform strategies to address the ecosystems of corrections, technology, security intelligence, training, education and reintegration of prisoners as well as legislative development and impact of imprisonment and international law as it relates to use of force .

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