Community
Mrs. Claira Range: Like a Motherat Northward
Acting Deputy Director of Prisons, MrsClaira Range.
There's no denying that behind that no-nonsensefaçade, there is a soft spot in Acting Deputy Directorof Prisons, Mrs Claira Range's heart for the 200-odd inmates underher charge at the Northward Prison.
It was there in the little things she did during the course ofan interview with one of the more mutinous of the lot; in theway she gently rubbed his upper arm when it was discerned thathe was becoming agitated; in the way her eyes misted and the convictionwith which she spoke about some of his more admirable qualities.
"Brian is such a sweet person; he is also very good withhis hands; he is talented. It's amazing the things he can do."
All her life, Mrs Range said, she has always wanted to becomea police officer. "It's a family tradition," she said.So when the opening for prison officers beckoned back in 1981,she lost no time in making that application, even though it wasnot her true calling.
As she admitted reflectively, "I'd always wondered what itwould be like to work in a prison; at the kind of effect prisonhas on people's lives."
As luck would have it, she was accepted to the post and officiallybecame a member of the Prison Service on May 1, 1981. She was25 and among the first batch of eight women to join the fledglingprison service.
The Head Receptionist at the time with the 'Beach Club Colony',one of several tourist resorts along the Seven Mile Beach, whereshe had worked for 10 years, the mother of five recalled leavingthere one day and starting out to her new job the next. "Ileft there the Thursday and start work here the Friday, "shesaid.
Warming to the topic in the comfort of her tastefully decoratedthough cramped office, Mrs Range confessed to always being inthe habit of helping people, especially the younger ones. Sheis of the firm conviction that if only she could reach one person,it would certainly go a long way in helping make a differencein ten other persons' lives.
As such, she's schooled herself into regarding all of her chargesat the Prison "...as my children; my big brothers; my bigsisters," but always careful, however, to know where to drawthe line.
They're here, she reasoned, not so much to be punished as it isto help them over the hump during the course of their incarceration.She says it brings her a feeling of accomplishment every timeword gets back to the prison that a former inmate is doing well.
"I am able to relax; to feel at peace with myself."What disturbs her most, she says, is when a person keeps comingback to prison. "I think I am failing when they keep on repeating.It bothers me. I cannot sleep at night," Mrs Range, the painvisible in her eyes.
Ten months after she joined the Prison Service she received herfirst promotion, the Jamaican-born Mrs Range said. She was alsothe first female to be appointed Principal Officer, a positionwhich brought with it additional responsibilities.
She was appointed Acting Deputy Director last October, which putsher in charge of the day to day running of the prison; "attendingto the every need of the prisoners," so to speak.
"I see prisoners on a daily basis; even if it's just to talk.Whatever their problems... I am here for them. I am more likea mother," she said. They're even allowed to call her athome if they are having a problem. "My number is in the book;I will not change it," she said.
Though the job does not require her to live-in, as is done insome other countries, she said she sometimes has to, as happenedduring the course of the riots back in late 1999.
As for the challenges of the job, the head honcho in the absenceof Director Mr. John Forster said she has never encountered any,though there were the odd what may be ascribed as "bad"or "good" days.
"...maybe they were bad days to other people's thinking,but to me it's nothing. I am a very open person; I believe inpeople; I work with everybody...I just do what I have to do andif perchance you are doing something that's not right, of courseI will take you to task over it. But I will not hold it againstyou."
Though this sort of attitude has made her very unpopular at times,Mrs Range says it a tough call to make, but make it she has toin the interest of all involved. "I have to," she stressed;"I will look after you when you're supposed to be lookedafter, but then there are times when decisions have to be madeand I just have to do it."
If there is one thing she has learnt over the years she has beenin the service, she said, is "never ever lie to a prisoner.Give them the facts; they will respect you all the more for it."
Respect is a thing, she said, that one cannot afford to lose inher line of work. "When you lose that in prison," shesaid, "go somewhere else to work.