Prison Service Reviews Overtime Records After Memo Flags Gaps

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The Trinidad Guardian says it obtained an internal Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service memo dated 8 September about delayed processing of overtime claims. The memo described inaccurate records, calculation errors, questions about compensatory time off and signatures or regimental numbers that could not readily be read on some documents. These are reported control weaknesses. They do not show that every disputed hour was unworked or identify an officer who committed misconduct.

Sources: Trinidad Guardian, 25 Oct ↗

The newspaper places the memo beside a reported total approaching TT$1 billion in prison overtime payments over ten years. A decade-long total is not an estimate of improper spending. Prison staff may legitimately work additional shifts when staffing and security needs demand it. The reported memo instead asks for clearer attendance books, explanations of duties, verification by supervisors and consistent treatment of call-outs and rostered work.

Sources: Trinidad Guardian, 25 Oct ↗

Acting Prison Commissioner Elvin Scanterbury told the Guardian he welcomed accountability and tighter procedures. The useful follow-up is a dated audit explaining how many claims were checked, how many required correction, the value involved and whether any cases were referred for investigation. Publishing those measures would distinguish administrative errors from potential abuse without treating staff as guilty on the strength of an unreadable form.

Sources: Trinidad Guardian, 25 Oct ↗

In a 26 October follow-up, Prison Officers Association general secretary Lester Logie said the association supports accountability but disputed aspects of the proposed overtime procedure. He said meetings with the Chief Personnel Officer and prison administration had clarified some points, while officers still faced delayed payment for older shifts and difficulty reconstructing records years later. His account adds the workers’ position to the earlier memo and commissioner response; it does not resolve which individual claims are valid.

Sources: Trinidad Guardian, 26 Oct ↗