Prisoners from Westgate will be temporarily housed in the Co-ed Facility at Ferry Reach to ease overcrowding, has learned.

Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton has signed an order under Section 54 of the Prison Act 1979 to allow the facility ? which only normally houses women and juveniles ? to now accommodate adult males.

Although unable to reveal the exact figures, Mr. Horton said the transfer would bring Westgate below the 200 prisoners mark ? the capacity is 208.

A group ?of carefully selected prisoners? would be moved on Monday, he told adding that those to be moved would be those of the lowest security risk.

?We would hope that this would be only a temporary measure,? he said.

?This is the first of a number of initiatives we are looking to introduce to ease the burden of overcrowding at Westgate.?

Earlier yesterday, Mr. Horton admitted that the Westgate overcrowding problem was not ?an easy fix? but he was hopeful a solution could be reached following Thursday?s marathon talks.

Mr. Horton also told the House of Assembly that ?incarceration must continue? despite the Island?s main prison operating at, or above, capacity and with chronic staff shortages.

The Prison Officers? Association (POA), which forced a meeting with Government two days ago over the overcrowding situation, has claimed assaults on staff and health and safety risks have increased in recent weeks due to the expanding prison population.

?The POA continues to express its concerns about overcrowding within the Island?s correctional facilities,? Mr. Horton told the House yesterday in a ministerial statement.

?It continues to express concern about health and safety considerations and about the declining morale among its members.

?The Government is not insensitive to the POA?s needs in this regard. It recognises the legitimacy of many of those concerns and is committed to their amelioration. The problems regarding overcrowding are not an easy fix ? there are a finite number of beds in the facilities.

?The Government is resolute in its commitment to reduce the incidence of criminal activity in Bermuda. Incarceration must continue, even as the Government refines and ensures the success of the Alternatives to Incarceration initiative.?

He said that during the four-hour meeting at the Department of Corrections headquarters ?immediate, short-term and long-term strategies were identified and agreed upon?, but said he would not yet be able to reveal the details as the POA had yet to reveal them to its members.

Permanent secretary Robert Horton said, however, immediate action would be taken.

As well as discussing the Westgate issue, Mr. Horton also finally offered a report on the success of the Caribbean and UK Overseas Territories Mutual Support Conference held in Bermuda two weeks ago ? a conference that was boycotted by the POA.

?I very much regret that the POA voted not to take a more active role in the conference, for I believe that its wider membership missed an invaluable opportunity to engage in important professional development,? he continued.

?The rich mixture of representation resulted in presentations that were informative and fruitful. There was a great deal of emphasis on training development plans when participants from the various jurisdictions identified and critically examined current issues and agreed recommendations emerging from the discussions.