Back to basics, urges judge

Acting High Court judge Barbara Cooke-Alleyne, says the recent wave of delinquency amongst the youth is a complex problem, for which no single section of society could be blamed.

She observed however, that there has been a straying away from attendance at church and being involved in organisations such as Girl Guides and Brownies and sporting endeavours once children leave primary school and go to the secondary school level.

Her comments came during a brief prize giving ceremony on Wednesday, for this year’s Winners’ Circle, a post Eleven-plus webinar series, aimed at preparing children, their parents and guardians for the transition to secondary school.

Madam Justice Barbara Cooke-Alleyne told Barbados TODAY, that though many persons may seek to blame the environment in homes for the rise in deviant behaviour by young persons and particularly young males, the true scope of the issue is not so clear-cut as bad influences can be found outside of their community.

“It’s a combination… they all come from the same society [but] different sections. You would find it in the schools but it also happens in homes where there would be issues going on; there may be parents who are using drugs so that the child is exposed to it [drug use] at an early age.

“It’s not only the schools but it’s the home as well. When you look at the pre-sentence report it tells us everything about the child’s background, education, home, neighbourhood, school, and you recognize that a lot of them do not go to church any more, or if they were active at primary school in sport, or guides, brownies, they are not doing that any more. There is a change when they get to secondary school. It’s important to get back involved in that kind of activity, and that can curb some of the problems that we have,” she explained.

Justice Cooke-Alleyne also revealed that a noticeable rise in cyberbullying incidents have been identified, and though the act may seem harmless to some, such activity can be brought before the law courts, whether they are grown adults, or children over the age of 11.

“Our use of the internet has increased, so cyberbullying is also one of the things that we are concerned about. We see the pictures going around, making viral of things that should not be shown about and could actually be crimes.

“I think they do not understand that aspects of it come under the Computer Misuse Act and they can be charged for that. It’s a lack of knowledge on their part, not recognizing that certain things they do online do fall under the act… If you do something to harass a person and they feel disturbed by it, just their feeling alone is enough to get the crime to be established.

Justice Cooke-Alleyne added that this year’s Winner’s Circle, which was supported by the Maria Holder Memorial Trust, was an all round success, stressing that it was important to prepare primary school students and their parents for the world of secondary school as the different environment not only brings wider opportunities for learning, but also more temptations in the form of illegal acts.

For the high court judge, all children deserve chances to make the right choice in life, and to understand the consequences of all their actions.

“Everyone wants to be in that winner’s circle… It does not have to be academic or sports, it’s just that you excel in doing what is right, making the right choice in your life, because right now for them their choices may have legal consequences. They need to recognize that and that every choice they make now leaves a digital footprint.” (SB)