Prison officers at the Women’s Prison in Arouca have to shoulder some blame over the escape of accused fraudster Vicky Boodram, a senior police officer at the Court and Process Branch said yesterday.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian under a condition of anonymity, the officer claimed checks and balances in the prisoner transport procedure could have prevented Boodram’s escape on Monday.
The officer said whenever accused persons were remanded into custody by magistrates or judges, remand warrants are issued. The warrants, which contain the date on which they are due to reappear in court, are handed over to prison officials when the accused are taken to the remand facility.
“When we go to collect them we do not go with any documents. The prison would give us a list of the prisoners who they have to come to court on that day,” the officer said, as he explained the prison list was complied through remand warrants it received.
“The only time we go with another document to collect them is when a magistrate brings up the matter and gives a replacement warrant for them to come to court.”
The officer said if the two police officers accused of assisting Boodram had presented documents, the prison officers had a responsibility to verify their authenticity.
“If they (the police) produce a remand or replacement warrant you have to know from who it came from.
“You mean to tell me that you just let her go and everybody knows there is no night court here?” the officer said.
Contacted yesterday, a popular criminal defence attorney also raised questions over the incident based on his experience in court, prison and police procedure.
“That whole situation sounds weird...It sounds like a case of prison and police officer collusion to me,” the attorney said.
He explained that in situations where a judge or magistrate varies a remanded person’s bail in their absence, the Prisons Service is informed directly by the Supreme Court Registry or the Clerk of the Peace at a Magistrate’s Court.
“If there is something that happened in your absence, then the Registrar or Clerk of the Peace faxes a copy to the Welfare Department of the Prisons Service.
“When they receive the fax copy, then a Justice of the Peace can come to the jail and process the bail,” the attorney said.
He also questioned whether a writ of habeas corpus was used in Boodram’s escape and if so, why it was accepted by prison officers. Under the writ, a High Court Judge orders that a detained person be brought before a court by their detainer, who is called upon to justify their continued detention.
Under the process, which is regularly employed by persons who are detained by police for lengthy periods without being charged, the head of the body detaining the person is served with the court documents and is required to get their agents to transport the individual for the hearing.
Habeas corpus applications are rarely granted in absentia, with judges waiting for the person to be brought before them before making final orders that they be released.
If the correct process was used in Boodram’s case, the Commissioner of Prisons would have had to be informed and would have had to retain attorneys to explain her continued detention.
“The jail operates on official documents. The police have no say in a jail.
“When they want to see a man for a murder enquiry, they are subject to prison rules on supervision that apply to anyone else,” the attorney said.