The Minister of Justice has told the Senate that she understands the challenges facing the Department of Corrections and that progress is being made one step at a time.

Kim Wilkerson, who is also the Attorney-General, spoke on the matter during the Budget debate in the Upper House on Tuesday as she revealed that she had requested that the Department of Corrections be moved into her remit.

“With a focus on rehabilitation, restoration and valuing citizens, I felt it was important to move it to the Ministry of Justice, to which the Premier agreed,” she said.

“I took it on fully understanding that there was a lot of work to be done, but also with a view that all we could do from here is get better.”

Ms Wilkerson acknowledged recent reports of officers being harmed at Westgate Correctional Facility, saying that further work was needed.

“The Ministry of Justice and I personally take this seriously, valuing both the people that work in our correctional facilities and the inmates that are there,” she said.

“We live on 21 square miles. There is one degree of separation between the people who live here.

“It is in our interest to do what we can to ensure that the people who have the misfortune to enter into a period of incarceration can come out better.”

Ms Wilkerson said the work of the department was not easy and she recognised the tasks to be addressed.

“Despite the challenges of staffing and infrastructure, the department continues to protect the public while investing in rehabilitation, education, mental health and skill development for those in our care,” she said.

Questioned by Tawana Tannock, an independent senator, about a declining number of inmates receiving GEDs in custody, Ms Wilkerson said she had dug into the issue as to why inmates are not completing their academic certification.

“From my own experience as an adult with dyslexia, I have been curious about whether our assessments are measuring barriers to learning that could be an impediment,” she added.

Ms Wilkerson said that she has had discussions with the Department of Workforce Development to bring its toolset to Corrections and explore ways to help inmates advance and better their chances of re-entering the workforce upon their release.

“These are tools that are being paid for by the Government already,” she said. “The idea is to make these more widely available because we are already paying for them.”

Discussing the Domestic Violence Court programme, Ms Wilkerson said that while training had not been specified in the Budget, it had been included nonetheless and had already begun through the ministry’s funding allocated for training.

“The focus of that training is now domestic violence as opposed to something else,” she said.

She said that the senior magistrate and representatives from the Department of Public Prosecutions have already visited a British court to learn more about their processes.

Ms Wilkerson added that related ministries had also launched training in preparation for the new court.

“At the same time, at the Bermuda Police Service there is also training,” she said. “We won’t see that in my Budget, but you will see that in National Security.”

Ms Wilkerson told the Senate that the ministry was working with the Ministry of National Security and the Road Safety Council for campaigns to encourage road users to drive safely.

“The campaigns are ongoing with respect to road safety,” she said. “I think the data is showing that these are having an impact.”

She accepted, however, that the projected number of prosecutions in Magistrates’ Court for traffic offences was “flat”.