CJ hails Juvenile Court Project

Speaking at the project’s launch at the Hall of Justice in Port-of- Spain, Archie declared, “Whether the child is a victim, the witness to or the perpetrator of an offence...a juvenile justice system that is predicated on the specific remedies in the child’s best interests and welfare must also provide the structures and approaches to meet each child at their point of need.” Observing that courts must be both punitive and rehabilitative, Archie said, “children who commit offences are not sufficiently psychologically mature to appreciate the consequence of their actions and their impact on their victims and the wider community.” He also noted there has been “legally sanctioned discrimination against children based on their status of being a child.” Referring to a category of offences called status offences, the Chief Justice said if these offences were committed by adults, they “would not be considered an offence.” However Archie said he was happy that, “all of that is changing.”

He was confident that the new Children’s Court will, “incorporate rehabilitative programmes with the aim being to treat, restore and reintegrate child offenders.” Archie said the public will also see programmes focusing on issues such as juvenile involvement in gangs and high risk child offenders. “This is really a first for the region,” he added.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said under Archie’s leadership, there has been yeoman service in the creation of this project. Noting that Archie’s workload is “beyond measure,” Al-Rawi said,

“ We often see some of the most difficult things portrayed in the news but we don’t often stop to celebrate the very excellent work that was done.” The AG said 18 pieces of legislation have been amended to deal with issues pertaining to children and “we have a second pass to take in September.”

However Al-Rawi said even if laws are amended to deal with systemic issues in the justice system, “if they don’t work in a system that functions through the pure application of common sense,, then really just spinning the proverbial top in mud.” Acting Police Commissioner Harold Phillip also hailed the project. Phillip said it provided a platform for the police to collaborate with other stakeholders in treating with youth crime and violence. He said there are currently112 active police youth clubs with 11,500 registered members in TT.