Strike action could be looming as frustrated prison officers attend a mass meeting this morning to hear the results of a management review.

Bermuda Prison Officers Association spokesman Russ Ford said anger with Prison Commissioner John Prescod had increased since last year?s four-day strike which sought to oust him.

Transfer of prisoners to today?s Supreme Court arraignment session is likely to be disrupted as the bulk of the BPOA?s 164-strong membership head for the 10 a.m. meeting at the Bermuda Industrial Union H.Q. Mr. Ford said: ?We expect to have at least three quarters of the membership present.?

He said the need for a mass meeting indicated the unsettled mood of prison officers who are renewing calls for Mr. Prescod to go. Mr. Ford indicated a skeleton staff would operate at Westgate after pointing out prison staff had always acted responsibly to keep the prison running safely.

?Tomorrow we will hear the results of the review panel. There is a very urgent meeting dealing with overcrowding and ongoing mismanagement.?

Asked about industrial action he said: ?I don?t rule it out. I don?t want to talk about it. Industrial action is not the issue.

?I don?t want to set off any alarm bells. All I can say is the mood of the membership is very unsettled. We will see what happens tomorrow. We are not demanding anything. We have already made our demands. It?s very clear what our stance is in relation to the prison commissioner.

He said Mr. Prescod and the two assistant commissioners had already seen the recommendations from the January tribunal into problems at the prison headed by the Rev. Goodwin Smith.

Mr. Ford said it was understandable they would see it first because the review had been about their performance. The BPOA will see the report at a meeting with the Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety ministry tomorrow morning at nine a.m. and then take the report to their membership.

Mr. Ford said: ?We have reached the first anniversary of that strike.

?We have not changed our stance, we are changing our tactics. We are going to have to do what we need to do.

?Management decisions made as recently as last week has not caused any degree of confidence in our management, that he?s changed or wished to change.?

Management bungling was an ongoing problem said Mr. Ford. ?We don?t hold out much hope it will change. Our recommendations are that the leadership within the department of corrections at the top must change. That speaks specifically to Mr. Prescod.?

Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton said he hoped the management review would meet the concerns of the prison officers. ?We continue to have our challenges. Hopefully tomorrow morning I will be more specific after the meeting. Hopefully it will be a positive meeting.?

Mr. Prescod, a Jamaican, was appointed two years ago on a three-year contract by then Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister who had admired his commitment to rehabilitation.

However Mr. Prescod?s career at the helm of Jamaica?s prisons from 1994 was marked by allegations of prison officer on inmate violence, riots, breakouts and walkouts by prison officers.

In 1997 prisoners rioted over his plan to offer condoms inside Jamaica?s prisons to officers and inmates to fight AIDS. Sixteen homosexual inmates were killed and prison officers walked off the job, and were replaced by soldiers.

In June 2000 300 inmates were allegedly beaten by prison officers at St. Catherine?s prison.

It didn?t take long for prison officers in Bermuda to fall out with Mr. Prescod. In April 2003 three quarters of Bermuda?s prison officers walked out and marched on prison headquarters after passing a no-confidence motion against Mr. Prescod.

They said he was arrogant, autocratic and had failed to implement 23 out of 35 recommendations made following a Board of Inquiry into the service.

A four-day strike lasted into May before Government brokered a deal which promised Mr. Prescod would honour the recommendations.

Officers had been campaigning for better appraisal, training, succession planning, career planing, consultation and communication. It was also agreed then Premier would host quarterly meetings to check progress.

In November last year prison officers said they were again considering further strike action in frustration over lack of service reform and they boycotted an international prison conference held in Bermuda. A review of prison management was agreed and its recommendations will be shared with prison officers today.

Prison officers also expressed fears about 100 percent occupancy at Westgate which they said was posing a security risk due to acute staff shortages. Officers were further angered when high-risk prisoners were moved to the prison farm rather than low-risk inmates.

A leaked report from officers highlighted fears over shortages of food, clothing and medical supplies. It said staff were unable to discipline inmates effectively, there was a lack of safety for staff and vulnerable inmates while overworked and stressed staff were working up to 14 days in a row.