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Parliament passes sweeping reform to juvenile justice system
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan
“We don’t want to make a jailhouse nation of our young people” – Ramjattan
The National Assembly on Thursday passed the Juvenile Justice Bill 2018, legislation that sets out a new age of criminal responsibility and decriminalizes certain crimes committed by youths, including wandering and truancy.
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan who tabled the Bill, said that the passage represents Guyana’s adoption of a policy framework where professionals are in the forefront supporting juveniles instead of the police and prison wardens.
“We do not want to make a jailhouse nation of our young people. We want to minimize the harsh punishment meted out to our young offenders which then stigmatizes them for life. We want to maximize their education, their rehabilitation, and their reintegration to society,” Ramjattan stated.
The process of getting the Bill to the National Assembly started under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). During the debate, the PPP Members of Parliament insisted that the Bill be sent to the Special Select Committee for further deliberations before passage.
Ramjattan stated that the PPP had 14 years with the Bill and the current government had three.
“Let us get on with the business,” Ramjattan urged just before the Bill was passed.
Ramjattan added, “We cannot come up with a perfect bill. We can come with the amendments.”
The Public Security Minister noted that jails and secured confinements are not the place where the substantial amount of young people should be.
“In this day and age we have to provide a humane alternative for young lawbreakers,” Ramjattan stated
The Bill allows for diversion, essentially steering young people away from the formal court procedures to informal procedures that include restorative measures for juveniles who would have committed an offence.
This ranges from an apology to compulsory attendance to a specified vocational or education centre or from community service to compensation to a victim.
Even before the commencement of proceedings, Ramjattan stated that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) or a police officer can consider warnings and referrals.
The Bill also seeks to establish a Director of Juvenile Justice who can implement more creative alternatives. According to Ramjattan, the Bill also affects the age of criminal responsibility which is 10. During the debate it was noted that the Bill does not provide for penalties for a person below the age of 14.
The Bill also abolished status offences which criminalize behaviour patterns of children who wander, commit vagrancy, truancy or are runaways.
“These often are the acts of psychological or socioeconomic problems. It is particularly a matter of concern that our girls and street children are often victims this type of criminalization because of the socio-economic problems. These are acts not considered criminal when committed by adults. Yet when children commit them they are convicted to secured confinement,” Ramjattan stated.
He pointed out that the last resort is a custodial sentence. Once the Bill receives the assent of President David Granger, financing will be required to establish several initiatives. According to Ramjattan, government will need to find the financing.
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