Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson is remaining mum regarding yesterday’s alleged attack on a female worker of the state-owned correctional institution for juveniles at Barrows, St Lucy.
Police are currently investigating the alleged assault against the employee of the Government Industrial School (GIS) by a 13-year-old inmate in which the worker claimed that she was “cuffed” at the back of her head.
However, Hinkson, whose ministry is responsible for that institution told Barbados TODAY this morning it would be improper for him to comment now that it is a police matter.
“It would be improper for me to do so when the matter is under investigation,” he said.
Police confirmed to Barbados TODAY yesterday evening that they received the report from an employee of the alleged assault on the staff member at around 9:50 in the morning.
It was revealed that the employee was temporarily stunned by a blow and sought medical attention at a private doctor soon after speaking with the police.
But while declining to speak on yesterday’s incident, Minister Hinkson referred Barbados TODAY to pending Child Justice legislation, which among other things, will give magistrates a significantly wider discretion to impose community-based, restorative justice or correctional supervision sentences rather than confinement to the GIS.
He explained that the Child Justice Bill, which he expects Parliament to debate by April next year, would most probably, with some amendments, fundamentally change the manner in which matters that go before the Magistrates’ Court involving an accused child will be dealt with.
“Emphasis will be on diversion in order to enable the court to remove the case from formal judicial proceedings and to consequently be able to adopt informal procedures for punishment and rehabilitation of the child,” Hinkson said.
He said there would also be a greater and earlier involvement of probation officers than is presently the case, and Magistrates would be liberally empowered to halt the initial inquiry into a criminal offence in order to deal with the child’s care and protection.
He noted that because of the “revolutionary alteration of the present system,” detailed consideration is required on how best to implement and operationalize the Bill.
“As such, a sub-committee of the Cabinet was formed to make recommendations on this area to the Cabinet. UNICEF is also providing its expert advice in this regard, free of costs to the Government, Hinkson stated.
He pointed out that the number of girls and boys confined to the correctional facility has fallen from between 50-60 when he became minister almost 17 months ago to 31 now, comprising 16 girls and 15 boys.
“Furthermore, as authorized by legislation, I recently gave early release to eight juveniles who had been sentenced to the institution for offences such as refractory behaviour, wandering, breach of probation and assault and who had already been confined for over 21 months in each case after being sentenced to three-year terms in some cases or until their 18th birthday in others,” he announced.
“This has provided one of them with the opportunity to return to secondary school while two or three of them have been provided with employment opportunities. I will personally intercede on behalf of the others to have them placed in the near future in the Youth Advance Corps programme initiated last month by the Government,” the Cabinet Minister said.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
