VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBE #0120/01 0851418
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261418Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELMOPAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1754

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000120 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/CEN CHRISTOPHER WEBSTER AND CHRIS ASHE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR BH
SUBJECT:  TOWARD MEANINGFUL REHABILITATION: HATTIEVILLE PRISON IN 
BELIZE 
 
¶1. (U) Summary. Hattieville Prison (also known as Belize Central 
Prison and the Kolbe Foundation) is Belize's only prison. With an 
inmate population of approximately 1,470--including men, women and 
youth, the prison provides on-site medical care, dental care via 
referrals, and mental health assessments by a visiting psychologist. 
Operated by a non-governmental organization with the goal of 
maintaining a facility geared toward meaningful rehabilitation and 
the successful re-integration of inmates into society, the prison is 
at near-capacity and has multiple housing facilities, educational 
and vocational courses and three rehabilitation programs that rival 
any other services of their kind available in Belize. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Background. Management of the Hattieville Prison, located at 
Mile 2.5 on the Burrell Boom Highway was taken over by the Kolbe 
Foundation in 2002. Kolbe Foundation is a private, non-governmental 
organization established by members of the Rotary Club of Belize. 
The organization is named after Maximilian Kolbe, the World War II 
Catholic priest who became the patron saint of prisoners, because he 
gave up his life to save another prisoner. Its mission is to make 
the prison a secure, humane facility geared towards meaningful 
rehabilitation. To that end the prison has developed many programs 
in support of the successful re-entry of prisoners into society when 
they are released. 
 
¶3. (U) Finances. Hattieville Prison's current funding from the 
Government of Belize is a BZ$13 (US$6.50) daily-reimbursement per 
prisoner, a total of approximately BZ$6,975,000 (USD 3,487,000) each 
year. However, some programs (especially the rehabilitation and 
youth programs) receive additional funding from independent sources, 
interalia, Michael Ashcroft, a wealthy British businessman with 
interests in Belize, and the Wagner Foundation. 
 
¶3. (U) Facilities. Hattieville prison includes seven (7) minimum 
security buildings, maximum and medium security areas, a "supermax" 
section for inmates who pose a high security risk, a women's 
building, the Ashcroft Rehabilitation Center and the Wagner Youth 
Facility. The prison also includes a school building used for 
education and meetings, exercise areas, basketball courts, a 
cafeteria, agricultural and poultry training farms, on-site staff 
housing, administrative buildings, and a man-made lagoon with fish. 
 
 
¶4. (U) Construction. Buildings are quite rustic, and usually bare 
concrete. Cells generally contain 2-4 beds (2 bunk beds) per room 
and a sink. Often cells have a window, and the doors are usually 
kept open-except in high security areas. Buildings are usually only 
two stories in height and have long hallways. Many of the buildings 
are separated by iron fences and have narrow entry ways. 
 
¶5. (U) In-Processing. Upon entering the system, new inmates go 
through an intake procedure and are assigned to their area of 
Hattieville prison based on a security assessment and their status 
in the legal system. Prisoners who are remanded until their trial 
are generally placed in a specific area of the prison--as are women 
(who go to a special women's section) and youth (who are placed at 
the Wagner Foundation for Youth). U.S. citizens and other foreign 
nationals, who are at Hattieville due to immigration violations, are 
often placed together in a section. 
 
¶6. (U) Population. Hattieville Prison has approximately 1,470 
inmates at present, counting men, women and youth. Women make up 
only 2.6 percent (a total of 38 inmates). An additional 3.1 percent 
(45 total) are juvenile prisoners between the ages of 12-18. The 
prison is currently designed for 1,500 inmates. A new building set 
to open in 2009 will increase its capacity to 1,700. 
 
¶7. (U) Americans. There are usually no more than ten (10) AmCits 
within the prison system at any one time, with three to four of them 
being held for immigration violations. Immigration violations 
typically result in a fine levied or a 6-month stay in prison, with 
an order to leave the country issued after either payment of the 
fine is made or the jail term is completed. 
 
a. Some AmCits have not been charged but are in remand until 
arrangements can be made for them to leave the country. This might 
include prisoners with a mental disability. Other AmCits have been 
charged and served their time, but are in prison beyond 6 months due 
to challenges with their repatriation to the U.S. and remain at 
Hattieville with an order of removal status. This allows prison 
officials to legally have the inmate in their care until their 
repatriation can be arranged. 
 
b. Other AmCits are serving longer prison terms for more serious 
crimes. This might include rape, murder, weapons/ammunition 
violations, or arson. These AmCits are usually housed with the 
general population of the prison within the medium and super-max 
areas, as needed. 
 
¶8. (U) Staff. There are approximately 265 staff at the prison, 
 
currently--70 civilian and 195 uniformed. Additionally, there are 
prison volunteers, including three chaplains. Most staff work 
12-hour shifts day and night, while a small group works a normal 
8-hour day shift. Generally, staff work in full-week rotations, 
working seven days on and getting seven days off. Security staff 
currently make approximately USD 500 monthly, have life insurance, 
and can use the prison clinic for health care. The Belize Institute 
of Management in Belize City is one of the main training resources 
for staff. 
 
¶9. (U) Prisoner Health Care. According to Hattieville prison 
administrators, prisoners have a range of health care provided to 
them, either through direct, on-site care or via referrals to 
providers in Belize City. 
 
a. The prison has an on-site, full-time doctor and two additional 
medical staff. Prisoners can request a visit to the clinic and have 
only a short waiting time for an appointment. 
 
b. Depending on the severity of the health need, prisoners may also 
be transferred to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, Belize's largest 
public hospital, for care that may include x-rays or more 
complicated blood tests. Prisoners are also taken to Belize City for 
dental care. 
 
c. There are monthly mental health assessments by a visiting 
psychologist. Currently, the prison has approximately 60 
mentally-challenged inmates. Prison administrators feel the services 
they provide are better than what is available in most hospitals in 
Belize. 
 
d. Unfortunately resource constraints limit health care that can be 
provided, whether it is preventative or acute care. One example of a 
limitation is that HIV testing is not mandatory because of cost. 
While the national prevalence of HIV is estimated at two percent, 
prison administrators there is estimate an average of 4-5 percent 
within the prison population. Currently, prisoners with HIV live 
side-by-side with sero-negative members of the general population of 
the prison. All inmates with HIV receive anti-retroviral therapies. 
Related to HIV, the prevalence of TB among inmates is a cause for 
concern for prison administrators. 
 
¶10. (U) Vocational Training. Prisoners can gain vocational 
experience by joining programs that include training in woodwork, 
jewelry-making, welding, cement-block forming, and farming. A gift 
shop just outside the prison sells some of the items made by 
inmates. A part of the proceeds is used for prison expenses, and 
part is passed back to the prisoners. Through their work and through 
funds provided by family and friends, inmates are allowed to have a 
"cash account" from which they can withdraw funds on a limited basis 
each week. The prison hopes in the future to move to a cash card 
system for managing inmate finances. 
 
¶11. (U) Rehabilitation Services. Currently, Hattieville is the only 
major institution in Belize to provide rehabilitation services. 
 
a. This service includes Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics 
Anonymous 90-day programs. The programs started in 2006, have a 
maximum capacity of 100 participants for each cycle, and are taught 
by ex-prisoners and ex-addicts--who also serve as peer counselors. 
The rehabilitation programs are behavior-based and are for inmates 
with any type of general addiction. Inmates enter voluntarily, with 
the knowledge that their participation improves their chances for 
approval of parole. The programs include basic education, peer group 
activities, testimonials, detoxification diets, separate (on-site) 
program housing, vocational training, computer classes, and other 
activities. Inmates who complete the program may be released 
depending on their circumstances or placed in special post-program 
housing which includes aftercare support meetings and activities. 
Additionally, family members are sensitized regarding recovery 
issues and the support they can provide to their enrolled family. 
The programs also accept civilian participants, who agree to be 
admitted into the prison and become a part of the population. 
 
b. The prison has a Christian-based, volunteer-run Narcotics 
Anonymous and Emotional Abuse Anonymous program. Inner Change for 
Freedom Belize (IFFB) is an 18-month rehabilitation course that was 
first offered in 2003 and graduates a smaller cadre each year. Like 
the other programs, IFFB includes rigorous scheduling, 
program-specific housing, academic training, physical exercise, and 
support groups. 
 
¶12. (U) Recidivism Rates. Prison administrators estimate that among 
those who have been convicted, there is a general 20-25 percent 
(Note: a more precise figure was not available. End note.) 
recidivism rate - often for parole violation or another commission 
of crime. Inmates who have gone through the rehabilitation programs 
and released are invited to participate in support groups that have 
been established outside of the prison community. Among 
 
rehabilitation participants, the recidivism rate is estimated to be 
17 percent. 
 
¶13. (U) Embassy Cooperation. Prison officials have held ongoing 
meetings with staff of the Consular section from the U.S. Embassy. 
While many of the meetings have been informal, some of the latest 
have included representatives from either the Embassy Consular, 
Political or Security sections, Embassy Belmopan Front Office, 
Belize Immigration, and prison security and administration. The 
outcomes of the meetings have included mutual agreements that will 
benefit not only the U.S. Embassy, but other embassies with their 
citizens represented in the prison population. Some of the 
clarification of rules/procedures include: visiting and telephone 
usage hours expanded for embassy staff who are working with their 
citizens, monthly reports sent to the embassy by the prison 
providing current data on the citizens who are incarcerated, some 
prisoner access to the Internet if this access will help facilitate 
the inmate's release from prison, the allowance of toiletries and 
some limited food items provided by the embassy to inmates, and 
specific inmate update meetings held with prison administration upon 
request. Both prison and immigration officials have expressed 
enthusiasm with regard to improved working relationships and 
communication with staff at the U.S. Embassy. 
 
¶14. (U) Communications. Communication is a definite challenge 
throughout prison facilities. Inmates normally have no access to the 
Internet and few office areas have Internet access for staff. Often 
the prison staff use their personal email accounts for work. 
 
¶15. (U) Reception. The front reception area is incredibly busy with 
"gatekeeper staff" who act as receptionists, security, drug, and 
paraphernalia screeners, and administrators. There are only two 
telephone lines available for the majority of calls made into the 
prison. This results in frequent busy signals when the public 
(including Embassy staff) telephone the prison. Additionally once 
prison staff takes a call, they may not be able to transfer it 
because of lack of telephone connections to most buildings and lack 
of an inmate database. The limitations on telephone calls are 
mirrored when calling to the outside. Inmates must pay for their own 
calls, arrange calls by asking for favors, or resort to attempting 
to make collect calls through the operator. Oddly enough, the prison 
does have a public address system, which is used as a radio station 
broadcast to provide music throughout the facility and send public 
announcements. 
 
¶16. (U) Information Interchange. Sharing of information remains a 
challenge among local police stations, immigration offices, the U.S. 
Embassy and Hattieville prison.  Although improvements have been 
made, it may take more than 24 hours before the Embassy hears about 
an arrest. On some occasions, an AmCit will be processed by a local 
police station and transferred to Hattieville before the Embassy is 
aware of them being in the system. Sometimes, the Embassy is not 
notified of arrests until the day the citizen must appear in court. 
Similarly, AmCits have been released from Hattieville or local 
police stations without the knowledge of the Embassy. Occasionally, 
Immigration has come to Hattieville prison to pick up an AmCit for 
deportation without first notifying prison administrators; and 
although motivated by concerns, the prison's policy of not notifying 
a prisoner of his/her exit date until the day of departure makes 
coordination awkward. 
 
¶17. (U) Prisoner Documents and Belongings. An important item 
discussed in numerous meetings between Embassy and prison officials 
is the security and tracking of an inmate's belongings. It is common 
for a passport, driver's license, or birth certificate to end up 
missing or to be misplaced for a time. 
 
a. There is some question regarding the safety of general 
belongings, as well as credit and/or debit cards, and cash. The 
problem occurs particularly when an inmate is transferred from 
office to office within the incarceration system -- i.e., between 
various police stations, immigration lock-up, and Hattieville 
prison. The transfer of a prisoner may occur in response to their 
need to face several charges in different jurisdictions or to attend 
court. Everyone who discusses this matter agrees that once an inmate 
is transferred and separated from his/her belongings, problems will 
surely begin. Discussions are still ongoing with regard to putting 
in place a system whereby belongings (in particular IDs/documents) 
can safely follow along when an inmate is transferred or be 
delivered to/picked up by the Embassy. Hattieville prison 
administrators are confident they have a safe and secure system to 
protect prisoner documents and belongings. However currently, not 
all prisoners who arrive at Hattieville have all of their items with 
them. 
 
b. In a few cases, assistance to AmCits has been delayed while 
police or immigration officials look for the inmate's passport or 
original birth certificate. In one case a released AmCit almost 
missed his flight because his passport was locked away for safe 
 
keeping, and the officer in charge had left with the key. In another 
case, an officer had taken an inmate's belongings home for safe 
keeping and had to go home to retrieve them. 
 
¶18. (U)  Prisoners with Mental Health Issues. While Rockview Mental 
Health Center in Rockville was an option for care for AmCits with 
mental health issues, the new Palmview Center (in Belmopan), has 
replaced it as a long-term care facility. It was unfortunately 
already filled to capacity before it was even opened. With the 
limited resources of the smaller mental health clinics and hospital 
wards throughout the country, this leaves Hattieville prison as the 
remaining option for AmCits with mental health issues. Although the 
physical surroundings are more secure and better than at Rockview 
Mental Health Center, the inclusion of U.S. citizens with mental 
health issues as part of the inmate system does present problems. 
One issue is that not all prison guards have training equal to the 
standards of care that would be provided by mental health 
psychiatric nurses who staffed Rockview when it was open. Similarly 
inmates with mental health issues are not separated but mixed-in 
with populations who may not have patience or knowledge of how to 
interact with persons with mental health disabilities. Additionally, 
mental health assessments or care at the prison can happen only 
through a special referral or during the once-a-month visit of the 
psychologist who is assigned to the area by the Government of 
Belize. 
 
¶19. (U)  Nutrition and Other Needs. While administrators state 
inmates are provided with three meals daily, many prisoners complain 
about the food; and almost all AmCit prisoners lose a fair amount of 
weight while they are incarcerated.  Often, AmCit mention the need 
for fruits and vegetables, more meat, and various toiletries and 
paper goods. When appropriate, the Embassy provides small items to 
the prisoners-with the support of prison officials. These items 
include toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo and 
conditioner, pens, pads of paper, and breakfast bars. The Embassy 
has also provided razors and bug spray--both distributed and 
monitored by prison staff, as needed. 
 
¶20. (U)  FUTURE PLANS FOR HATTIEVILLE PRISON. The prison staff is 
quite enthusiastic about their plans to strengthen the prison's 
rehabilitation programming. Their main goal is to assist inmates 
with their re-entry into society and ensure they have the 
opportunity to gain skilled employment. To this end, prison 
administration seeks to broaden vocational programming to include 
seven core trades: mechanic, electrical, plumbing, woodwork, 
welding, agriculture, and horticulture. 
They also seek to add more literacy training. 
 
¶21. (U)  Additionally, prison administrators hope to add more job 
skills training for staff and would like to raise the level of 
security training, as well as provide better equipment to civilian 
staff and security officers. 
 
¶22. (U)  Construction continues on new buildings for medium 
security, as well as new exercise areas. Additionally, prison 
officials would like to improve the financial state of the prison. 
 
¶23. (U) The prison's website is www.kolbe.net. POC at post is David 
¶M. Jones, tel. 011-501-822-4011, extension 4219, email 
jonesdm@state.gov. 
 
DIFFILY