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NATIONAL Security Minister Stuart Young revealed on Wednesday that in the last three years, 33 prison officers have been held trying to enter prisons with contraband.
He made this disclosure in response to a question from Independent Senator Paul Richards.
While declining to give details of the measures being useed to prevent contraband entering prisons, for "obvious reasons," Young said, "They have upped the level of monitoring and the other types of intervention that are taking place."
He said a number of people, including active prison officers, have been detained as a result of these ongoing measures, which the Prison Service continually reviews.
Young told Richards the practice of screening all prison officers entering and leaving the prison continues. He also said the issue of prisoners throwing contraband over prison walls for people on the outside to collect is also being addressed. Young said the scanners and jammers being used by the Prison Service are operational.
In response to an earlier question from Opposition Senator Wade Mark, Young said reports about the Fire Service's landline phones being disconnected were wrong. But he said, "Some mobile devices utilised by First Division officers were temporarily affected at the end of January 2021."
Since then, Young explained, service has since been restored by the telecommunications provider.
"Of course, this never affected the services provided by the TT Fire Services, nor their response to any member of the public."
When Mark asked Young to indicate some of the factors which caused the mobile devices of some fire officers to be temporarily disconnected, Young replied, "No."
Mark asked, "I beg your pardon?"
Young replied, "No."
Mark asked, "What you said in response?"
As Senate President Christine Kangaloo asked Mark if he had another question for Young, he said, "That's rude. I am going to call him a rude minister."
When Kangaloo warned him, Mark withdrew his remark.
Young later explained that he said "no" because he did not have the information as to why the phones were disconnected. He said the issue could be technical problems with the telecom provide or payment of bills. He reiterated, "I simply don't have the information."
Young said neither he nor anyone else could give an assurance that this situation could not recur.
Kangaloo disallowed Mark's question about the non-payment of bills being the reason for the temporary disconnection.
In response to Kangaloo's ruling, Mark said, "Then I will release the minister."
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