Hanna outlines plans for model centres for juveniles

Lisa Hanna, Jamaica's Minister of Youth, is insisting that until major legislative changes are made, there is little that can be done  to prevent the country's children from being placed in police lock-ups.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the minister outlined plans to develop "model police juvenile holding centres" in each parish, so children can be kept separately from adults.

Civic groups have blasted this practice.

But speaking on ‘Beyond The Headlines’, RJR's news magazine programme, Miss Hanna insisted that not much can be done until the changes are made.

Miss Hanna has also sought to address the concern that she has not been available to civil society groups to discuss their proposals for dealing with the situation. She explains that another meeting is scheduled for early next year.

“The interminsterial met with them recently. We are meeting with hem again in January and they too have raised concerns. I don’t think I have a bad working relationship with them, but what I would ask of the group is to not personalize issues. If we are going to really solve the issues of children, it is going to require a national consensus, and to require all stakeholders to get involved.” 

'Little too late'

Meanwhile, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, Opposition Spokesperson on Youth, has described as "too little too late" the government's response to children being kept at adult correctional facilities.

Ms. Grange said, in a statement released early Wednesday morning, that the Simpson-Miller administration needs to immediately find a permanent solution that will ensure that no child is ever housed at prisons. Ms. Grange, while heartened that juveniles will be separated from adults at the upgraded facilities, insisted that the Minister of Youth be held accountable as Jamaica continues to be in breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.   

Warning that the government must not be tardy in providing a permanent solution in housing juveniles, the Opposition Spokesperson said she hoped the announced intention to construct purpose-built facilities in each parish was not just talk but will be treated as a priority.

The government, she said, should identify the appropriate funding as soon as possible.