RESPONDING to calls from certain residents at Providence, East Bank Demerara, police have removed a two-year-old boy from the custody of his imbibing grandfather, who was inebriated at the time of their visit to his home.A police constable involved in the child’s removal called this newspaper to ask “Which place is open” to take the child. The constable told the Guyana Chronicle that the grandfather is reportedly drunk on a regular basis, and is unable to properly care for the child. He informed that the child’s father is currently incarcerated, and the mother is “hardly ever” at home.

This newspaper called the Providence Police Station at 12:45pm, and the responding office, who asked not to be named, confirmed that the child had indeed been removed from the home, and was still at the police station.

The incident, particularly as it relates to police ignorance over procedures, sparked in stakeholder circles major concerns in relation to the person or agency that should be responsible for a child who has been removed by some competent authority after that child has been removed, and the level of collaboration considered acceptable among stakeholder agencies in regard to that child’s welfare.

OUTRAGE
Head of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), Ms Ann Greene, expressed outrage at the circumstances surrounding the removal of the two-year-old from his grandfather’s custody. In an invited comment, she said, “The police are aware of what they have to do in this situation. They have the Agency’s hotline number, and can also contact me personally! All stations MUST know — and follow — the procedures!

“If it is that they are saying they do not know that the Child Care and Protection Agency has to be contacted when a child is removed from any environment, then it is a matter that has to be taken to the (police) Commissioner.”

Greene said the Child Care and Protection Act is clear on the procedures regarding such an incident. She added that while some police stations make contact with the agency, other still do not. “At the end of the day, we are the ones responsible for providing alternative care for the child in question,” Greene stressed.

Greene said the issue is not that the police should not, or could not, remove the child; rather, the problem is that contact has first to be made with the CCPA, in the interest of the child’s safety and welfare.

She said awareness campaigns have been undertaken by the CCPA to ensure that police ranks are fully aware of what they have to do in circumstances similar to this one. “They (police) have to stick to procedures!” Greene stressed, referring to possible ensuing difficulties that would arise if the child’s welfare were in any way threatened and procedures had not been followed.

She called for a greater level of collaboration between the GPF and the CCPA, to protect the welfare of all children. “We cannot say the system does not work if we are not following the rules,” she declared.

The CCPA hotline number is 227-0979.
Written By Vanessa Narine