Chief Justice Ivor Archie says the Juvenile Court System in T&T has historically been “very punitive” rather than rehabilitative to young offenders.
He was speaking at the induction ceremony hosted by the Judiciary of T&T for 118 young volunteers of the Judiciary’s Pilot Court-Annexed Peer Resolution programme at the Hall of Justice, Knox Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
During his feature address Archie said “The available data suggests that the likelihood for the successful rehabilitation of a youth is much greater than that of an adult, even though both may have committed a similar infraction.
“We have a system with little discernible difference between the treatment of children and adults who are in conflict with the law. No distinction in its treatment between children who commit a criminal offence and those in need of social assistance because of their circumstances.”
He said T&T’s system had criminalised behavioural problems such as truancy, breach of the school rules, or the state of being deemed “beyond control,” a concept with which he had great difficulty.
Archie said young people in custody for criminal offences wait inordinately long periods for the matters to be heard.
Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young said T&T was in some turbulent waters and the country will sail through and return to calm waters in the future.
He said this will only happen if the citizens take up the mantle of responsibility and our own duties and responsibilities and do what each can for T&T.
Young said to see young people give up significant amounts of time to be trained was a wonderful thing and they should be commended for that.
Master Christie-Anne Morris-Alleyne project manager for the T&T Juvenile court project said Peer Resolution will be the first of its kind in the Caricom region.
Also present were UN resident co-ordinator Richard Blewitt and representative of the Government of the United States Dina Abaa-Ogley.