Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

Former detective Constable Carey Lyn-Sue could this Saturday find himself in the same prison with the man against whom he fabricated evidence in a murder case.

On Monday, Lyn-Sue was sentenced in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court to six months in prison for perverting the course of public justice.

Jason James, the alleged leader of the notorious St James-based Killer Bees gang, was the man against whom the statement was contrived.

He is now serving a 15-year sentence at the St Catherine District Prison in relation to another case.

Lyn-Sue will be transferred from Montego Bay to a penal facility on Saturday morning.

Commissioner of Corrections, Major Richard Reese, says there is an even probability that the ex-policeman could land in the same institution as James.

"We have one system in Jamaica for everyone," Major Reese told The Gleaner yesterday. "If you are an adult male, you will be sent to either the St Catherine District Prison in Spanish Town or the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston."

Reese further said the Department of Corrections ensures the safety of all prisoners.

Assessment

"A risk needs assessment is done on every person who enters the penal system, whether it be a policeman or a gang leader," he said. "We have an obligation to ensure that no harm comes to them."

Reese said once the risk assessment is done at the St Catherine District and the Tower Street prisons, a decision could be made to transfer the inmate to another penal institution.

"We have never lost a policeman who has been incarcerated in our penal system," he said.

However, a former policeman from Montego Bay who served three years on a drug-related sentence between the St Catherine District and the Tower Street facilities said life was not a "bed of roses" for ex-cops behind bars.

"Apart from the constant ridicule, if you are careless, you could get killed," said the ex-policeman, who asked not to be identified. "You have to be on your guard round the clock."

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com