He has created many firsts during his stint in the Barbados Prison Service.
The most recent was his promotion to assistant superintendent at the age of 51, making DeCarlo Payne the youngest ever assistant superintendent and youngest gazetted prison officer in the service.
Payne, who is now in his 31st year in the prison service, was judged Best Recruit, won the title of Prison Officer Of The Year twice and barely missed out on taking that title for a third time, falling short by one point.
Adding to the lists of firsts, Payne received a triple promotion in 2005, a move that took him from acting sergeant to chief prison officer, a post he held for seven years until his most recent promotion at the beginning of this month. That also means that Payne has moved through the ranks of the Barbados Prison Service more quickly than anyone else has done.
He said his accomplishments were the result of dedication, commitment, being very focused, not getting sidetracked very easily and humaneness. Additionally, he works towards the goal he has set,” Payne said.
Payne, who started as a prison officer at the age of 21, said that he had as his ultimate goal to become the Superintendent of Prisons, but now wants to be a permanent secretary.
He said that he was always a disciplined person and that influenced his choice of career when he left the Garrison Secondary School. After a brief stint at a hotel he applied to the Barbados Prison Service, the Barbados Fire Service and the Royal Barbados Police Force. Those choices, he said, were made because when he left school the main career choices were in those fields. They were popular, and they were “secure jobs”, Payne said, but the prison service provided the first opportunity.
“I have always been a principled person, and I believe that it is my upbringing with my grandparents that has led to that.
“My grandfather was strict. He was also an experienced and knowledgeable person in terms of life issues, so he would sit and chat with us. One of the things that stand out about him is that he did not like persons telling lies . . . so I never came along telling lies. I was always upfront with him,” Payne said.
Payne’s disciplined nature also plays a role in his home life. The father of an 18-year-old son said that he had no worries about his son – he believes that his being employed in the prison service has had an impact on his son.
“He knows what I like and what I dislike. He knows what I stand for, so I do not think he would operate in ways that would bring my work situation into question,” Payne said.
Ultimately, upgrading his skills through training has helped Payne to reach the position that he is now at in his life. His current studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), as well as overseas training he has undertaken, has put him in a good position to surpass all the goals he set initially, he said.
He has been to Britain for training with the prison service there on three occasions, the most recent being in 2007 when, in preparation for the move to Her Majesty’s Prisons Dodds, he headed a four-man team to study their system.
Currently he is at UWI in the final stages of his Executive Master’s in business administration – general management, with a specialization in human resources.
A gracious Payne thanked Superintendent of Prisons Lieutenant Colonel John Nurse for encouraging him to further his studies and for urging the other prison officers to develop themselves personally.
The recent promotion means that Payne is in charge of administrative duties, dealing with human resources activities, training and development, recruitment, staff discipline and compensation.
How does he feel about the recent promotion? “I believe that it was merited. I worked hard for it; it was not given to me. I believe it is the dedication that would have put me above the others,” Payne said.
He added that the promotion did not “swell his head”. “It is just the beginning for me because I am on a continuum. I do not believe that because I have reached this stage that it is the end for me. I am not limiting myself,” Payne said.
