In 2002 the Hattieville Prison became the Belize Central Prison when its management was handed over to the Kolbe Foundation. In 2002 there were just under one thousand inmates and today there are just over one thousand three hundred inmates. But the folks at the Kolbe Foundation say that those numbers tell nothing of the transformation that's taken place in the culture of the institution. Today we found out what a difference five years has made.

John Woods, Chairman - Kolbe Foundation
"Before, somebody would mess up and they would pick them up, throw them in here and just ruin him."

That was five years ago. Koble Foundation Chairman John Woods says that the Hattieville Prison you see today is a facility renovated and rebuilt, and that's from the ground up.

John Woods,
"Before when you came in here it was a war zone and people were getting horribly abused. Now, it is not so much us. It is the prisoners themselves saying they will leave that on the outside. We live and work together in here. Our basis is we believe that all are created in the image and likeness of God and if we truly believe that, that means we are brothers and sisters and we have to learn to live and work together."

And there are 1300 prisoners living at the central prison. So what has changed? Well Woods says the changes are obvious. At the outset there is a new user friendly visiting area. A major change is that there are more cells. Instead of 12 inmates to a cell - there is an average now of only 6. And in those cells - all 1,300 inmates have their own beds. That is in addition to the Supermax with 44 inmates and the Isolation Unit with 6 prisoners.

John Woods,
"In the max-medium I have seen as many as 12 people in one 8 by 10 cell. That means they all couldn't lay down at the same time. One of the things is that when we first took over, there were only three hundred beds in here and there were 900 prisoners so that meant that 600 people were sleeping on the floor. Now everybody has a bed or has access to a bed except in Supermax where they destroy everything; it is hard to keep beds in there."

But most prisoners aren't locked in their cells all day. Most are out in the yard: playing basketball, exercising, or working. Fellowship is also now a major part of life at Kolbe. Woods says that Kolbe's focus hasn't been on incarceration - it has been on rehabilitation.

John Woods,
"It's a choice that we have to make in society ourselves: what are we trying to do. We say that prayer all the time, 'forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.'"

It's a method which Woods says works. The prison says the recidivism rate is down to only 30%. One poster boy for reform is 29-year-old David White. Seen here in this documentary produced for the prison, White is a recovering crack addict who was released from the prison on parole - only to be rearrested about a month later.

[Clip from Documentary]

But White may be an exception. Less than half of the prisoners are actually enrolled in rehab or prison fellowship. There is also the issue of the parole program which is now controlled by Kolbe. Prisoners now only have to serve one third of their time to be eligible for early release.

John Woods,
"We pulled about 25% of the people that have been paroled, we have already pulled them back in. So the message is out there loud and clear now that if you are paroled, you have to behave yourselves."

And for who don't behave themselves - there are 100 new cells under construction.

Among the facilities added at the prison are a computer lab, rehabilitation center, and a number of new classrooms.