We breached constitutional rights of 12-year-old - Police

We breached constitutional rights of 12-year-old – Police

Jun 16, 2010 News

The Guyana Police Force has admitted to breaching the constitutional rights of a 12-year-old Linden boy, who was detained for more than a week pending charges of possession of narcotics.
In a statement issued yesterday the force acknowledged that the boy, a student of the Wismar Secondary School was unlawfully detained beyond the stipulated 72 hours.
The student was taken into police custody on Monday June 7, and was only taken to court after languishing in the Wisroc Police Outpost for more than a week.
The boy’s father, in an interview with this newspaper last week said that he was peeved at the royal runaround he had to endure at the hands of the Police at Wisroc to secure bail for his son. “I am unable to sleep at nights since my son has been in the lock-ups,” the father had related.
According to the man, he received a phone call from the headmistress of Wisburg Secondary School, notifying him that his 12-year-old son was taken into police custody after he was found with marijuana.
He said that he was miles away when the Headmistress requested his presence at the school.
However, by the time he reached the school his son had already been taken into police custody.
The man explained that he was told by police upon visiting the station that his son was found with 20 grams of cannabis sativa.
However, when he was shown the amount in a piece of paper, it appeared to be far less than 20 grams.
He disclosed that upon speaking with a Probation Officer, he was told that in such a case she would need to seek advice from a prosecutor.
But according to the police, the youth had originally stated that his mother had given him the drugs to give to his father and initial reluctance by the parents to report to the Wisroc Police Outpost in order that a statement could have been taken from him, resulted in a delay in the investigations.
They claimed that it was only during the evening of Wednesday June 09, 2010, that his statement was taken in the presence of his mother.
However, recognizing that the 72 hours maximum for which a person can be detained without being charged would have expired the following day, an extension for his stay in police custody should have been sought through the court, and according to the police this was not done.
“The Police Force considers this a serious breach of the Constitutional rights of the individual and the Police Standing Orders. The Police Office of Professional Responsibility has launched an investigation into this matter and condign action will be taken against any rank found culpable,” the police statement said.
Meanwhile, the 12-year-old has been charged with Trafficking in Narcotics after legal advice was sought in the matter.
He appeared yesterday before Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court where he pleaded not guilty to the charge and was placed on $10,000 bail. He will make another court appearance on August 4.
He has been released into the custody of his mother and is required to report to the police and the probation officer on specified days of the week during this period.

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We breached constitutional rights of 12-year-old – Police

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