Youths In the Criminal Justice System

 "Clearly from where I sit as the Director of Public Prosecutions, I want to tell you this; not enough attention is being paid to the youth of the British Virgin Islands and consequently, they go astray. They end up before what is already a completely over-subscribed criminal justice system," Mr. Rajbansie lamented.

His remarks were centered on the youth and the criminal justice system and according to Rajbansie presently with the increased number of youth being taken before the court a proposal has been made for a second full time magistrate to sit on Virgin Gorda.

He said due to the high number of crime involving juveniles, youth court is now being held twice weekly on both VG and Tortola.

"We have no less than 40 young persons before the Magistrate´s Court. We now have a full time magistrate sitting in John´s Hole, and a proposal for a second full time magistrate on Virgin Gorda because the list on Virgin Gorda has grown exponentially. Youth court is sitting twice a week both on Virgin Gorda and in Tortola," he related.

The DPP said the offences for which youth find themselves before the court include possession of dangerous drugs in particular marijuana, burglary, and firearm and ammunition possession .

He also stated that there are a high number of persons on remand at the Her Majesty´s Prison and to this end his office is moving to expedite those matters including those involving youth.

"I am presently moving all the matters we have on the remand section of the court including the youth and we have given the youth first priority to get their matters put before the court and dealt with in a manner that is expedited. It is very important because at this stage the prison was only built to accommodate 80 persons and it is completing over-subscribed with 145 inmates at this time of which 30 are on remand," he stated.

You Can Help

Meanwhile, the DPP after listing the problems made several suggestions where members of the community including business owners can assist. He said they are currently using other methods of punishment including community service and curfew rather than sending the youth to prison.

However, the DPP said this will also call for the help of members of the business community.

"We are developing a model...justice for sentencing and with youth offenders presently before the court we have developed a new form of sentencing which we are putting before the court which allow the person not to be incarcerated, but to give back to the society. We have embraced the social workers, we have embraced members of the social development who are now doing reports for us and giving us guidelines as to how to treat with young offenders. Perhaps something as simple as getting them to apologise to the person who they have offended goes a long way, but that is only the initial step," the DPP stated.

He added, "We are trying now to get them more involved in community service and this is where an NGO like the Rotary Club becomes important. Can you assist the criminal justice system by providing avenues so that when the court issues a non-custodial sentence there are some persons out there who are willing to take that child into your organization and grant them some form of mentorship so that they do not re-offend...Re-offending is far too prevalent in this society..."

Mr. Rajbansie suggested that businesses can develop work place apprentices programs that create jobs for offenders who have completed their sentences, assisting with rehabilitation, creating avenues for youth to get involved in the development of the country, working with the schools, engaging in school enhancement projects, be guest lecturers at schools and creating summer jobs for students.

"...And do we participate in a mentorship program so that the youth do not end up as a file on my [DPP] desk but as a worker in your office,"the DPP stated.

Invest In The Youth

The DPP stressed that it is paramount that investments are made in the young people, and major emphasis is placed on them just as it is placed on the tourism and financial sectors.

"There remain today a social responsibility, not only to make the country economically viable but there is a dying need to ensure the social well-being of the next generation. A true progressive nation recognises its wealth as its children and as much investment should be made in them as the things like tourism, financial services sector; or we run the risk becoming obsolete as a citizen."

He further added, "Youth find themselves in the criminal justice system because of a systematic failure. There is in society a breakdown of family life, a break down in morals and standards. The system of education for example is not geared towards teaching the young male it´s all about passing academic exams and does not always reflect the way men learn. We find in society that our value system threshold has been lowered considerably and that is coupled of course with all the extraneous factors..."

Rajbansie urged that the goal is to get the youth out of the criminal justice system, and pointed out that legislation alone cannot be the answer.

"The government alone cannot, the young people are the future of tomorrow...What is required is that we make a concerted effort..."