The newly-elected leader of the prison officers union is concerned about the drugs getting to inmates ? and is sick of officers being blamed for the problem.

Prison Officers Association chairman Craig Clarke said the Westgate perimeter was not as secure as it should be.

Mr. Clarke told : ?Casemates had 30 foot walls but at Westgate we have 12 foot walls. It?s not impossible to throw something over a wall. That has to be addressed.

?Drugs are a scourge and a blight. When drugs get into prison it is a security problem. Anyone on substance can become violent.

?We have the same concerns as the Commissioner and everyone else in the corrections department. That?s why the ion scan was set up and we have more officers being trained to handle the dogs. We are working at it.?

But Mr. Clarke is sick of the issue becoming a political football.

?It?s a dreadful thing when we hear politicians say things about the corrections department and imply officers are involved in nefarious activities,? he said.

?These are the very same people who are in position of power in this country to change the things they talk about.?

He said unfounded allegations against officers undermined the credibility of the service and he added that, when prison officers did make drug busts, they were not reported for security reasons.

Mr. Clarke is also concerned about the rising tide of violence in prison.

?We have noticed, coming in now are younger, more aggressive inmates who feel the department owes them something,? he said.

?They are not used to being disciplined for any infractions they have. We have in society now young men with a penchant for violence. These are the same people who enter our facilities.?

Mr. Clarke knows about this first hand having suffered permanent vision loss in what Judge Archibald Warner said was ?a vicious and unprovoked attack? by the brother of an inmate outside Docksiders bar three years ago.

The repercussions relegated him to low risk tasks in prison but Mr. Clarke said the matter was now behind him.

?I think justice was served. I believe you reap what you sow in life and what goes around comes around.?

Mr Clarke was elected to his post last month after being nominated by outgoing Chairman Michael Tuzo who, he said had done a sterling job during tumultuous times in the service.

He said it was time for a new direction in the department because the POA has been through enormous turmoil in the last four years after a Board of Inquiry was set up in 2001 to look at chronic problems in the service.

?We then had to contend with the ex-Commissioner, Lt. Col. Prescod ? it?s been tumultuous times in the correctional department,? he said.

Mr. Clarke said he wants all the recommendations from the 2001 inquiry to be implemented in the next three years.

Another dozen or so issues are still outstanding, including performance appraisals, job descriptions and succession planning.

?We fought hard for them. There was over $120,000 paid in legal fees by the membership. Those are things dear to the membership?s heart.?

A new five-person executive was elected on February 15 with the team consisting of both new blood and old hands.

Already the new team has met with both the prison leadership and the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety, and has pledged to work together as much as possible.

?I feel we have a good commissioner in Mr. Dean because he?s available to listen,? mr.Clarke said.

?He?s come back from retirement to take the post and already the mood has changed somewhat. He?s committed to training and safety and security concerns.?

This is common ground with the union pushing for an emergency response team to be set up to quell riots ? as promised by Paula Cox several years ago.

Another concern is housing inmates with mental problems in a separate prison unit. Government has promised this in the Budget. Mr. Clarke said it would need a new building outside the main Westgate prison but inside the compound and could take a couple of years to complete.

He is also calling for better communication between management and the ranks.

Talks had begun on setting up a strategic planning team to work out how to deal with continuing overcrowding.

It?s a quick rise to the top for Mr. Clarke. The 36-year-old business administration graduate only joined the service four years ago after being a sales manager in a motor accessories import business.

He now writes policies and procedures for the department and is based at the HQ in Happy Valley Road, Pembroke.

But he is already adapting to the new demands as head of the Association for the next three years.

?Since I started I have had phone calls at all hours. Your time is not your time. There is always something going on in the service.?

Mr. Clarke said he got involved in prisons because he wanted to help.

?We have a lot of young black males incarcerated and I always thought that basically I could make a difference because if you can touch one life and one person doesn?t return.. then my job is done.

But he said the department suffered from a lack of staff able to help in rehabilitation which made the prison officers job more difficult.

?We can?t save everyone who comes to us,? he said.

?We need programmes. Currently we have one psychologist, we don?t have enough case workers.

?You might have one case worker dealing with 66 inmates. In other jurisdictions it?s one in 20.?

He said the community had to help find ex-convicts jobs and housing if it genuinely wanted the recidivism rate reduced.

?We want people to volunteer their services. The church groups do a fabulous job but we need mentors. Inmates need jobs.

?Some of the inmates we have are very talented but when they get released sometimes they don?t have family support.

?We all have a role to play in corrections. If they don?t have a foundation when they leave they will return to a life they know ? a life of crime.?

Chairman: Vice Chairman: Secretary: Assistant Secretary:Treasurer: