…sets criminally liable age at 14
…abolishes as offences wandering, truancy, vagrancy
THE National Assembly on Thursday evening passed a landmark bill which when it comes into force will revolutionalise juvenile justice here- decriminalising a number of offences such as wandering, truancy and vagrancy and setting a new age of criminal liability at 14.
The passage of the bill repealed the archaic 1931 Juvenile Offenders Act and will now allow Guyana to conform to the several international Conventions to which it is a signatory. Despite repeated requests by the Opposition, People’ s Progressive Party (PPP) to have the bill referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee for further consultations, government insisted that its passage was long overdue, having been in the incubator since 2004. When it was time to vote the opposition abstained.
GET ON WITH IT
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan in piloting the bill, described the document as comprehensive while noting that with the passage of the legislation, status offences such as wandering, vagrancy and truancy would no longer be criminal offences. Ramjattan made it clear that the legislation has been in the making for 14 years under successive administrations. “Why shouldn’t we get on with the business?” he asked rhetorically. He noted that the legislation was the subject of extensive consultations and that it was inherited from the PPP government. “We have indicated that it will not be going to any select committee. This government will set its legislative agenda, not the opposition,” declared a feisty Ramjattan.
Meanwhile, he told the House that the Bill has “basically abolished status offences”. Status offences are those offences which criminalise behaviour patterns of children who wander or committed vagrancy, truancy or are runaways. Ramjattan posited that acts of truancy and wandering are often times a result of psychological or socio-economic problems facing girls and street children. The Bill, he said, is geared at effectively tackling the “significant” issues relating to juvenile justice while stressing that Guyana will not make a jailhouse of its young people.
Guyana’s Juvenile Offender’s Act was enacted in 1931 but in order for it to reflect international juvenile justice standards in accordance with the Beijing rules and the Riyadh Guidelines, extensive recommendations were made. He spoke to recommendations in relation to the age of criminal responsibility in children, free legal services for the accused, as well as the recommendation for government to establish separate remand homes for boys and girls under the age of 18 who would have had run-ins with the law, as well as improving training programmes for professionals involved in rehabilitating the youth.
The minister who thanked all stakeholders, made it clear that there was a hiatus in moving forward the legislation but noted that the process was advanced through collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “This government of Guyana wants to see an Act which reflects modern philosophy of juvenile justice which strengthens the justice system for juveniles and makes it responsive to them and their situation,” the Public Security Minister said in reference to the adoption of a policy framework from England.
Additionally, the Minister said the Act is aimed at providing a framework where professionals are in the forefront, supporting juveniles rather than the police and prison wardens. “We don’t want to make a jailhouse nation of our young people,” Ramjattan stressed, while noting that it is his government’s intention to minimise the harsh punishment meted to young offenders. Those punishments, he added, stigmatise the youth for life. “We want to maximise their education, rehabilitation and reintegration into society,” the Minister stated, while noting that jails and secure confinement is not the place where a substantial amount of the country’s young people should be.
He stressed the need for juveniles to be with “humane incarceration”. “This Bill I am proud to say makes provision for this alternative—it is referred to as diversion…diverting the juvenile away from the formal court procedures to informal procedures, that include restorative measures to deal with a juvenile alleged to have committed an offence.”
The Bill speaks of several alternatives sanctions that could be imposed on youths who have been deemed culpable. Those range from the accused issuing an apology, to being sent to specified vocational or educational centres, as well as being sentenced to community service. They can also be ordered to compensation for the victim in an amount which the juvenile’s family can afford.
Moreover, before the commencement of proceedings the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) or the police officer can consider warnings and referrals. Other alternative sanctions can come from the newly created office of juvenile justice, but it up to the creativity of that office to come up with innovative diversions to ensure the young offenders are dealt with in a manner appropriate to his or her well-being and proportionate to the circumstances of the offence.
CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Meanwhile, of particular interest was determining the age of criminal liability. Consideration has been given to whether the age of responsibility should remain at 10 or increased to 12 or 16 years. The Bill states that the age of criminal liability stands at 14. Ramjattan said experts from other Caribbean countries were contacted to see what the standard was across the Region.
Additionally, the minister said the legislation aims too at removing the levels of discrimination against the youth as opposed to adults as it relates to status offences. “These are acts not considered criminal when committed by adults but when young children commit them they are convicted, sometimes for secure confinement…and they are wandered, committed vagrancy or are regarded as truants. There is an inherent injustice here and discrimination on grounds of age,” declared Ramjattan.
The minister said a number of children have been sentenced at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) for wandering. He said in 2015, based on statistics, some 30 children were sent to the institution for status offences. “These offences must be abolished,” he declared, noting that there must be an enhancement of humaneness and equity by reducing the use of confinement as a penalty.
“Mr Speaker, we must not betray young people by continuing the imposition of custodial sentences. This must only be an exercise of last resort where nothing else is left to protect the public.” Ramjattan acknowledged that the revolution which the Bill creates will require a number of changes and huge amounts of resources. He stressed that the changes must include mind set changes. Ramjattan said support will be provided by the government to ensure these changes take place. He noted that resources must be found to establish placement facilities which will support the new juvenile justice regime.
“Retraining of policemen, prosecutors, magistrates and judges will also see expenditures rise but for our young people involved…most of whom are products of dysfunctional families, we must invest today in realistic, rational, sensitive and supportive interventions to reap the dividends of more secure families, safer communities and ultimately a stable nation tomorrow.” He stressed that an ideal legislation is a myth but noted that efforts can be made to improve that which exists over time.
COMPREHENSIVE BILL
Opposition Member, Dr Frank Anthony agreed that the Bill is a comprehensive one which has a progressive approach which speaks to rehabilitation rather than punishment of juveniles who encountered problems with the law. Outlining the history relative to the reform of the legislation, Dr Anthony, a former Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport said, in 2004 Guyana was told its 1931 law did not conform to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
While some aspects of the legislation found favour with him, he objected to the proposed increase in the age limit from 10 years to 14 years at which time a child cannot be charged for criminal acts. He like many of his colleagues suggested that Guyana’s age of criminal responsibility be 12. “That is something we have to look at because that is not expressed in the Bill before us,” he said.
He said even as the Bill suggests that the age be taken up to 14, it makes no provision for a young person under the age of 14 who commits a serious crime. He questioned how such a child would be dealt with. “Mr Speaker, we feel that there are some very small grey areas that we can quickly sort out and if he would consider that we take this Bill to the select committee so we can iron out these small areas so that we can have unanimity,” he concluded.
Dr Anthony’s call for the Bill to be sent to a Special Select Committee was echoed by Dr Vindhya Persaud and Priya Manickchand. While they commended the government in bringing the Bill to the House, they stressed the need for more consultations with civil society. “There are many deep seated reasons for the phenomenon of youth crime that we cannot ignore in the country in which we live. Violence and crime perpetrated by young people are caused by many factors that work simultaneously to create situations of social instability,” said Dr Persaud.
She stressed that the Bill requires tangible efforts from all stakeholders that can make a tangible impact in what is to be achieved and called for a special juvenile court, specialised lawyers, and the provision of community-based services for rehabilitation and reintegration, as well as right to privacy through media coverage. Similarly, Manickchand said she is pleased that truancy and wandering will no longer be considered offences, citing that as a progressive move and fits squarely into what the country’s vision is for children but contended that there are areas that require more deliberation and clarity. “I see no harm in it going to the Special Select Committee to be addressed so that we can get the best out of it,” she told the House.
Manickchand posited that the Bill at this point cannot be brought into force as Guyana currently does not have the resources to meet some of the provisions outlined in the Bill. She said too, that it would be improper for persons who have concerns about the age of criminality to be dismissed. “This is a piece of legislation that is needed in this country, this is a piece of legislation that I would have great difficulty not supporting so this is a piece of legislation that can be perfected. What is wrong with going to the Select Committee and fine-tuning this piece of legislation?”
However, Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally made it clear that the Bill was the subject of many consultations, while noting that it aims to protect children from harm. “This reformed Bill will hold young offenders accountable for their actions…and increase their chance of having a better life,” she said, while pointing to Article 38 (b) of the Constitution which stated that the best interest of the child should be the primary consideration in all judicial proceedings.
“No longer will our youth be placed before the court for status offences such as wandering and truancy—these crimes will finally be abolished and decriminalised— this will be a major achievement in Guyana’s juvenile justice system,” the Social Protection Minister stated. Ally noted that over 70 per cent of the country’s youth housed at the NOC are there for charges relating to wandering or truancy, as well as other minor offences. She noted that wandering is a principal reason for the loss of a child’s liberty.
“Many of these children are a product of their environment…they come into conflict with the law for many reasons- poverty, family break up, unemployment, migration, substance abuse, pressure exhorted by peers or adults, violence, abuse and exploitation to name a few,” she said, while calling on all Members of Parliament to change the situation.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, SC. described the bill as timely, relevant and long overdue. He stressed that in all matters concerning children, the best interest of the child should be paramount. Williams said the modern legislation seeks to ensure that the interest of all juveniles is of utmost importance. He said the main aim of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation and not punishment. He stressed that the ultimate goal is giving the juvenile another chance to take up a responsible place in society. “Let us not fail our most vulnerable but let us offer them an opportunity to be rehabilitated so they can make a tangible contribution to building a beautiful society.”
Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira argued that the government should not be opposed to sending the legislation to the Select Committee. “I can’t understand the government’s reluctance on sending the Bill to the Select Committee—what is your problem? You are in the chair, not us,” declared Teixeira. Former Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and Opposition MP Jillian Burton also spoke on the Bill.