Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre Regional Director calls for comprehensive review of Juvenile Justice Systems in the Caribbean. This call was made by Mr. Henry Charles, in the editorial column of the April issue of the CYPCC Caribbean Youth Vibes monthly newsletter published by the Centre and reiterated in an exclusive interview with CYPCC Public Information Officer.

“Is it morally right for a young person in the juvenile justice system, who, from all reports is showing significant signs of rehabilitation to be transferred to prison to spend the rest of his life among hardened criminals because of some archaic legislation?

The Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre (CYPCC) is deeply concerned about rising levels of juvenile delinquency and the increasing numbers of young people who are either the perpetrators or victims of gang activity, gun violence, drug related offences and other serious crimes. According to Regional Director, Mr. Henry Charles " It is indeed a tragedy and major development challenge, that so many young people, many of whom may be below the age of adulthood are reported to be languishing in Caribbean jails, juvenile detention centres and/or are being processed through juvenile justice systems."

"We are particularly concerned that the regional juvenile justice and penal systems may not have the capacity to address this complex development challenge, unless these are subjected to a comprehensive programme of review and reform" added Charles.

According to the Regional Director, "this matter requires urgent attention from governments and other relevant stakeholders, as it should now be very evident that the existing juvenile justice and penal systems are not having the desired impact they should in contributing to the decrease in youth crimes and violence. In actual fact the existing status quo maybe a major contributing factor in the creation of more seasoned young offenders, because of the actual situation within the institutions."

The Regional Director laments the fact that there is still the policy in the Caribbean to address juvenile delinquency and other cases of youth in state care on pure punitive responses rather than through rehabilitative and positive development strategies.

Mr. Charles emphasized that while one is not advocating a "free pass" for young offenders it must be of some concern that many of these young people are at such an early age exposed to penal and justice systems plagued with inadequacies and distortions. In the circumstances, instead of weaning those young people away from crime, their exposure to the deficient systems has resulted in the creation of higher proficiency in pathological and anti-social behaviour.

Consequently, apart from depriving our societies of the productive capacity of these individuals we are also creating the conditions for a volatile social and political environment. He suggested that a reformed juvenile justice system must be informed by sound empirical data and guided by international standards and protocols that are rights-based in approach.

"While there may still be a role for institutions, there is need for a deliberate effort to develop more community based rehabilitation programmes and strategies. Communities must be empowered to support young people and their families to manage the psychological, social and economic factors contributing to deviant and criminal behavior. Some may disagree but it is now well established that many of the young offenders are usually the victims of social exclusion and economic marginalization", Mr. Charles said.

Instead of being a major contributing factor in the graduation of juvenile delinquents to become hardened violent criminals, our juvenile justice systems must be transformed into effective tools for the reduction of crime and violence. Mr. Charles, in the editorial, questioned, "Is it morally right for a young person in the juvenile justice system, who, from all reports is showing significant signs of rehabilitation to be transferred to prison to spend the rest of his life among hardened criminals because of some archaic legislation?

He also feels part of the reform process should include the provision of appropriate training to the police and other law enforcement agencies to improve their capacity to better manage the challenges of dealing with young people who find themselves in conflict with the law. Mr. Charles is also calling for greater access to and improved quality of counseling and development services for young people and attention to the role of families, emphasizing that there should be parenting programmes to help parents better support and assist their children.

Stating that governments need to move fast to de-stigmatize the issue of psychiatric treatment, Mr. Charles said that society must provide for and allow young persons affected by mental illnesses to access quality treatment in a timely manner. Looking at the existing probation services, he reiterated that these need to be revamped to ensure that there is enhanced capacity to manage juvenile offenders. Given all these factors, he summated the time is opportune for a comprehensive review of the juvenile justice systems in the Caribbean.