Participants at a two and a half day Juvenile Justice Training workshop have said that they are now better positioned to deal with Juvenile delinquents that they come into contact with.
The training workshop, which was held last week at the Garraway Hotel, was attended by 55 persons from the Prison Service, Social Welfare Division, Calls Center and Public and Private Sector institutions.
Speaking to DNO, Director of the Love one Teach one Foundation, Gloria Walsh, said she learnt a lot during the workshop.
“The juvenile justice workshop was very informative … you think you know a lot but at the same time there are certain things that was said by the facilitators like the Havana Rights, the Beijing Rights of the juveniles … that was something new to me,” she said.
She said she can now better deal with juveniles whom she comes in contact with. “I am better able to deal with the juveniles especially when the children have problems,” Walsh said.
Meantime Community Mobilizer from West Federation, Georgette Henry, said she is prepared to spread the word on juvenile justice.
“It was very educational, I must say, and not only that can you believe that the Juveniles have so many rights they are not aware of and we as parents don’t even know,” she said. “I deal with the children every day …now I am better equipped now and I can also share it with my colleagues.”
The objectives of the workshop were to identify and reflect on the key principles that guide juvenile justice work, to understand the role of different practitioners in juvenile justice and the need for a multidisciplinary approach to juvenile justice, to understand the juvenile justice values and provisions for the convention on the rights of a child.
Among its aims were to give an understanding of the other international and regional instruments of juvenile justice, the provisions of international rules and guidelines relevant to juvenile justice and to exchange ideas on how the guidelines can be put to practice at a national level.
Also discussed at the workshop were the rules governing police intervention and requirements for a lawful arrest and the screening process of a juvenile.
Participants also learnt about the importance of prosecution discretion, about experiences that aim to divert children away from the formal court process and the rules of underpinning a detention by a court, among others.
The workshop was facilitated by Attorney –at-law Hazel Thompson-Ahye and Anguillan Social Worker, Dorn Henry.
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