There are currently 94 guards for a total of 825 prisoners, of which only 50 prisoners have been convicted. According to the correctional officer interviewed, there is a need for 60 more guards. The guards work in 2 shifts, 75% of them work on the first shift from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, 25% work from 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM.

The budget comes from the Ministry of Justice, but no one at the prison has direct access or discretion over any portion of the specific prison budget. This means that if the Superintendent or guards have any suggestions for improvements or want to make any changes, however small the budgetary impact, they have to go through the chain of command of guard to Superintendent to Director of Prisons to Assistant Manager for Rehabilitation, which usually results in no action occurring. A system promoting positive suggestions from the guards doing the actual work could result in savings and improvements in safety, operations, and conditions that would be beneficial to all parties.

Some of the things the guards and Superintendent are able to accomplish even with limited resources are listed below:

1. Keep juveniles and women separate from adult male prisoners as is necessary based on United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice §13.4 and United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners §8(a), as well as Liberian law mentioned in other sections;

2. Prisoners are allowed visits from family and friends during set visitation days and hours as is necessary based on Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners §37;

3. The prisoners receive mail regularly through a program administered by the Liberia National Red Cross Society;

4. There are areas available for prisoners and their counsel to speak confidentially as is necessary based on Liberia Constitution Article 21(i) which stipulates that there shall be no interference with lawyer-client relationship;

5. Attorneys are freely allowed to visit their clients which meets the requirement of section 2:34.13 of the Liberia Criminal Procedure Code;

6. The guards do not interfere with the prisoners right to freedom of religion as is required by the Liberia Constitution Article 14; allowing them to conduct prayer services and attend services conducted by the local imam at the prison mosque on Fridays;

7. There does not seem to be much evidence of guard violence against prisoners or any other kind of inhumane treatment, which meets the requirements of Liberia Criminal Procedure Code section 2:34.18. When prisoners are unruly, the guards isolate them within the standards set by law; and

8. There is a system for prisoner complaints; the prisoners will complain to the Five Star or other surrogate head prisoner who will then inform the officer in charge of the block who will then in turn inform the Superintendent. Most prisoners interviewed indicated knowledge that a complaint could be addressed in this manner.

Unfortunately because of limited resources, the guards face many problems that they are unable to solve:

1. As mentioned above, there is a shortage of personnel. Given the current population of the prison, the Superintendent noted that an additional 60 guards are necessary to run the prison in an orderly fashion;

2. The guards work 12 hour shifts;

3. They do not have uniforms; this makes it difficult to tell the difference between prisoners and guards. This is an issue because this enables prisoners to escape. When we visited there had just been an escapee who had left with a group of people during visiting hours;

4. There are not enough supplies for sufficient recordkeeping. The prison records consist of a chalkboard with the prisoners separated into different categories.

The record-keepers have to buy their own chalk.

While there is a filing cabinet, there are no folders to file the papers in an organized fashion so any prisoner files they do have are not organized;

5. Food is donated by the United Nations World Food Programme. While the prisoners are able to all have at least one meal a day, it is unsure whether this meets standards. Sometimes there is enough food for the prisoners to have two meals a day but it seems more often they only have one;

6. There is some issue with wages not being paid to the last couple of classes of guards trained by UNMIL; however, it is unclear whether or not the issue is because of miscommunication between UNMIL and the Liberian government regarding the budget for the remainder of the year;

7. Soap and toothpaste are at times donated by the Liberian National Red Cross Society but when this runs out, there is no further supply unless prisoners receive it from their own family; and

8. There are no vehicles for the staff to convey inmates to the hospital or court; sometimes they use public transportation to convey inmates to the hospital, which is against regulations.

To read the next section of this article: 5. Harper Prison: Conditions.

To return to the previous section of this article: 3. Monrovia Central Prison: Conditions for Juveniles.

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