Her regimental number is 1782. She wears five-inch heels and designer suits and her manicure is always on "fleek".
But don’t let her "pretty woman getup" fool you. At 53, Charmaine Johnson is fearless in the execution of her role and function as the acting superintendent of the Port-of-Spain Prison. And the Sunday Guardian had the privilege of seeing her in action when we visited her office on Friday. Besides the constant ringing of her phone, we noticed a whiteboard on the wall with numbers and prison service jargons, which we were subsequently told by Johnson, was a daily projection of the prison’s breakdown outlining the category of inmates in the sequence of large to small and it also tells her the number of officers on duty.
She also deserves "three cheers" for being the first of the services only two females to be promoted to first division; the other is officer Germaine De Graff. But from where she currently sits, Johnson wears the hat of a pioneer, being the first woman in the history of the T&T Prison to perform the role of a Superintendent of Prison.
While we thought it to be the "shattering of a glass ceiling" accomplishment, coming from the days when promotion remained a dream for female prison officers until slain commissioner of prisons Michael Hercules changed this, promoting five women to the rank of Prison Officer 2 (PO2), Johnson said she was careful to not get splinters from this proverbial glass ceiling in her eyes.
"You break the glass ceiling and a lot of the things that are happening suggest to me that some people are not comfortable with where we sit as women," she laments.
We assumed "some people" may have referred to her male colleagues and with our next question our assumption was on point.
Though Johnson has had the support of most male officers, she has also had her fair share of male chauvinism and misogyny. She said the reality was that some people are still of the view in this modern time that women are not to be in charge and more specifically, in charge of men. She noted that sometimes the challenges with this can be hurtful, but there is always someone to come back and say something nice, or kind and she has the support of what and who matters.
"I understand that may have been a culture, feeling or opinion, but I am here and I don’t think I’m going anywhere soon," she says in a nonchalant tone.
She said she continues to understand her purpose in the prison service and what is required of her.
"I know for a fact, I have tested it many times, there is a supreme being stronger than any man who has me here, and here is where I will stay until I fulfil that purpose for which He has placed me."
Joining the service
Serving for 29 years, Johnson said national security was always a career field she wanted to get into but the fears of her parents prevented her from joining the T&T Defence Force and the TTPS, even after getting accepted by both.
"Parents at that time had this phobia that a young woman in her early 20s would be taken advantage of in this male-dominated environment so it was felt that the army and the police service was a no-no" Johnson recalls.
But by the time she left home, Johnson decided she was going into the prison service, with the mindset "I’m a big girl and I could take care of myself."
She said there were also people in the prison service who looked out for and protected young female recruits, as they perhaps knew of the negative things that could happen. She said the current Commissioner of Prisons, Gerard Wilson, was one of those people, saying "The same caring man you see today is exactly how he was when I entered the prison service."
After her period of training in 1992, Johnson passed out as "Most Outstanding Female Recruit." She began working in the women’s prison where she would spend the next ten years, but not without some reservations at first about how she would relate to inmates, some old enough to be her mother and others young, like her then self. But as time passed, through trial and error she learned the ropes and soon, Johnson was responsible for the forming and reforming of many initiatives which contributed to the upliftment of inmates.
One of the more successful programmes she spearheaded was the beauty queen pageants, earning Johnson the title of "queen maker".
Queen shows existed before, Johnson said, however, she was instrumental in moving it away from its primitive production where though innovative and to some extent creative, gowns were made from garbage bags and newspapers to acquiring sponsors and even having the inmates themselves create their own gowns. She would also bring in professional make-up artists and stylists for the inmates. Laughing, she said you couldn’t tell it was not a standard beauty pageant.
This along with other programmes, she said, not only positively impacted inmates’ behaviour, boosted their confidence and morale, but it also brought a sense of revitalisation to officers who bought into the programmes.
Moving to Port-of-Spain Prison
In 2006, as described by Johnson, she felt as though she was being ripped away from the women’s prison when she was transferred to Port-of-Spain for the first time.
Not really having an explanation as to the reason for her transfer, she said she was very sad, as the women’s prison was all she knew and where she wanted to be.
"I felt like I was doing something…saving lives. I had built relationships with inmates and officers. Probably it was a fear about leaving my 'safe space', but I was really devastated when I first came to work at the Port-of-Spain Prison."
As a then Acting PO2, she was sent to work in the visits department. But this role would be short-lived as on scholarship she soon went to COSTAATT (formerly the Joint Service Staff College), for two years on a management-based programme.
A woman of many "firsts", she explained that as an Acting PO2 or in any position where one is acting, once they go on a scholarship programme or course, that acting capacity breaks. Johnson would then become the first PO1 male or female, afforded the opportunity to be sent on a management-based programme, normally only available to senior rank officers in the various arms of national security.
By 2008 she was promoted to full PO2 and returned to the Port-of-Spain, prison, now holding several management positions before moving up to the rank of Assistant Superintendent. This position took her back to the women’s prison and through other prison divisions including Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre (ECRC), and Maximum Security Prison, performing duties in the discipline and programmes departments—the latter, in which she said she held a special interest as it was the department which allowed her to be involved in the planning of initiatives that would improve the lives of inmates and officers alike.
But just as she was getting comfortable, she was asked once more to take up duty at the Port-of-Spain Prison. Johnson admitted that she returned with a heavy heart, though familiar with the Port-of-Spain Prison from her previous stint, with all that was happening in the society that was coming into the prison she was uncertain of what to expect. However, having that base, the respect of officers and inmates, allowed for the disappearance of her anxieties.
Making a human difference
Her subordinates were all smiles on our visit and we got the impression, it was not at all a façade.
Johnson said one thing any of her staff that she has worked with from any division could vouch for, is that she takes the welfare of them seriously, as they are her most prized possession.
Pointing to a mahogany brown soft leather-covered sofa sitting to the right of her office upon entry, Johnson said she has often taken on the role of "counsellor" to her staff who often visit her office seeking her guidance and sharing intimate details of their lives both personal and professional.
As tiring as life is and with all its vicissitudes that can mentally, physically and emotionally drain someone, Johnson has often witnessed during her "counselling" sessions, officers fall asleep.
She does not view this as laziness or a way to "lahay" on the job, but she recognises this as exhaustion and "burn out", something all human beings experience trying to keep up with the demands of life.
"There is no way that you would deliberately come and sleep on my couch and it’s not every day this would happen either. So whenever this happens, I let them sleep," Johnson relates.
Sometimes she would even exit her office while they sleep and work from another area to avoid disturbing them from their "rejuvenation nap".
It is not just about being kind, she asserted, but rather remembering where she came from and how exhausted she and her colleagues were as junior officers who really worked hard.
At the Port-of-Spain Prison she is also known for introducing two initiatives—one for relatives of inmates to purchase lunches from the prison canteen on a weekly rotation, and a family visit programme which allow inmates the opportunity to spend time with their children. She said the benefit of this was first geared toward the interest of the child, then to the father.
Called mother
When it comes to inmates, the mother of one maintains fair play as she instills in her subordinates, though prisoners might be serving time for crimes they committed, it must never be forgotten that they are still human beings.
Perhaps it’s these qualities that have also gained this driven woman from the East, the title of "mother", as inmates as well as officers often refer to her. But though a complementary designation, Johnson ensures her kindness is never taken for weakness.
"I am very careful, because some people may also use that to feel when they say that, that softens me and causes me to behave in a particular way. But I also have to have my head on because sometimes for some people that is just an excuse for them to get their way," Johnson explains.
She told the Sunday Guardian, she’s clear in her mind of what her role and function is and understands both sides of the coin and is able to distinguish genuine from counterfeit.
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All life is under threat
Johnson might be strong and holding her own, but we asked if she ever fears for her life knowing prison officers have been targets over the years.
She responds, "I think the life of every prison officer is under threat."
She said she felt threatened and uncomfortable when a colleague of hers, David Millette was shot dead at his home in Morvant in 2015 and again when one of her staff, David Boodram was killed in his car on Frederick Street in 2018.
But perhaps her most traumatic was the murder of her good friend and colleague head of the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca, Superintendent Wayne Jackson, who was shot and killed by unknown men at his Malabar home last year.
Becoming emotional, she spoke of her last conversation with him minutes before his death. Johnson said she still gets anxiety attacks when she thinks about it. She said for every prison officer or citizen who has been murdered, it hurts her.
"When I saw that little boy rubbing his mother’s back and bawling, I just couldn’t take it and these are times I feel to give up," she says referring to the recent murder of state witness Candy Ann Mc Intyre, 36. But her faith in God and the prayers of others as her covering, are what keeps her going.
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Advice to young women
On her advice to young women in male-dominated professions, Johnson says, "We know women, what our needs are and what our weaknesses are. We know that we are working in a male-dominated environment. We are very well aware of the things that may happen.
"Get where you’re going by doing what is right. Set goals and accomplish them; educate yourself; understand your purpose and take responsibility for the decisions you make and the consequences that follow, but above all things remain grounded in your spirituality, as that is what would cover you from one step to the next."