– EPIC Guyana proposes JJRC

THE LAWS governing the incarceration of juveniles in Guyana ought to be urgently updated to prevent lasting damage to the psyche of locked-up children, especially at the Sophia Juvenile Holding Centre.
To redraft and modernise the Juvenile Offenders’ Laws will take quite some time and effort, but Executive Director of EPIC Guyana (Enhancing Potential to Inspire Change) Brian Backer believes that with support from all the parties involved, the work can be done.
Backer, who formed the local non-profit organisation back in 2016, said that much of its work on helping youths at the Sophia Centre and he is pushing to have the current laws changed in a number of areas.

The proposed Juvenile Justice Reform Collaboration (JJRC), a plan for joint government and civil action, has already received positive feedback from all stakeholders involved, including the Guyana Government. But none of the agencies have really come forward to move the initiative forward.

“EPIC coordinates with the government, private sector, international organisations and private donors and strives both to influence and to support the agenda for reforming the juvenile justice system. Our relationship with our partners is based on mutual recognition of the distinct roles and responsibilities of the state and civil society,” Backer explained in the JJRC document.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Speaking with the Pepperpot Magazine, he offered that the JJRC will seek to ensure that non-violent juveniles are not incarcerated and that the age of criminal responsibility is raised from where it is currently at – ten years old.
According to Backer, there also needs to be a classification system at the holding centre so that juveniles charged with serious offences are separated from those with lesser charges, such as a child charged with murder as opposed to one charged with wandering.
Furthermore, he is arguing that a structured curriculum ought to be in place so that detained juveniles can acquire impactful academics during their stay at the facility. “The current facility is a child prison and in some cases will do irreparable damage to the psyche of incarcerated children, especially those with lesser charges like wandering (which shouldn’t even be on the books). They need qualified counsellors on staff, as early intervention in crisis is critical,” he expressed.

FLAWED METHODOLOGY
According to Backer, the statistics for the last five years show that the methodology in use currently is flawed, as although there has been no reduction, the same techniques are being used.

“In order to reduce the incidence of youth crime and recidivism, there must be more community, governmental and corporate support and buy-in. It’s everyone’s problem because angry and disillusioned children will carry these feelings into adulthood,” he observed.

The administrators and staff of the Sophia Centre try their best and mean well, Backer said, but their hands are tied as they are not responsible for setting policy.
“There have been instances where staff have gone to court and asked for custody of children detained there, so this clearly demonstrates that some of them have a passion for what they do and are willing to go the extra mile if it would help even one child. However, they can only do but so much, which is why more support is needed,” he said. “The ministry doesn’t have unlimited funds, so there must be a collaborative effort that includes corporate Guyana so that this issue can be resolved. It’s a solvable problem; it’s not hundreds of thousands of children, it’s 30 on average.”

FOCUS OF JJRC
EPIC’s focus for the JJRC is to galvanise numerous civil and government commitments that already exist and to maximise current opportunities to improve juvenile rehabilitative outcomes.

The JJRC proposal said it will be supported by a robust management and governance structure, designed to ensure wide consultation, high-quality strategic guidance and high powered implementation ability. The patrons will provide strategic, political and programmatic guidance and advice.

The JJRC will invite the Ministries of Education, Social Protection, Culture, Youth and Sport, and Public Security, along with the Guyana Police Force and the Judiciary to participate and have active representation as patrons.
“This will be a consultative forum of stakeholders that will review the JJRC’s progress and advice on programmatic and strategic direction. The forum will also promote continuous stakeholder dialogue in a structured and systematic way,” the JJRC proposal said.
EPIC intends to secure the services of skilled and experienced implementing agents (social workers, behavioural analysts, psychologists) who will work in partnership at a national, regional and community level.

“This civil and governmental collaboration will allow the organisation to improve the quality of schooling and create new, long-term systems for educating and supporting detained children; provide a governance platform and co-financing modality for joint civil society, business, teacher association and Government initiatives to improve juvenile detention academic curriculum; and sustain the juvenile justice reform dialogue until non-violent juveniles are no longer detained or housed with violent offenders,” the document says.
Backer said the JJRC will not replace current civil society and business activities aimed at improving the Juvenile Offenders Bill. “EPIC recognises the value of many such initiatives such as the Commander’s Youth Initiative that now boasts a membership of over three thousand juveniles and others that are aligned with Government’s juvenile justice reform agenda and have the potential for systemic change. EPIC will seek to improve coordination among existing localised initiatives and achieve better returns on investment,” he said.