Minor, 13, held in State of Emergency – Commissioner says he’s not innocent, but getting a second chance

Published by BBNTEAM at July 29, 2024

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Posted: Monday, July 29, 2024. 7:29 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: It raised eyebrows last week when media reports surfaced that a thirteen-year-old boy was among those detained at the start of the State of Emergency (SOE) on June 24.

More than a month later, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams detailed to reporters why he was picked up and what is being done to help him.

“It is not far-fetched to have a 13-year-old under the SOE. The 13-year-old in question, I know him; and I believe that he had been shot once. Reports to us just two days prior to the SOE was that he was accused of chasing somebody in the Martin’s area with a gun to shoot. It is sad to see that it is a 13-year-old, and while we’d like to be empathetic towards him, I think that the current situation he is in is one that is going to enable him to reflect on his very young life, in terms of does he want to continue that lifestyle of crime and violence, or does he want to step out of it?” the Commissioner said.

He added that the age should be less of an issue than the very real possibility that he winds up on the news as a victim or gunman as the case may be: “For me at this time, it is more about saving him from being killed, or saving him from killing somebody. I do believe that what we’re doing is going to help him more than affecting him in a negative way.”

The minor is currently at the Wagner’s Youth Facility on the compound of the Central Prison, Hattieville. Williams said he and Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa had discussed housing him at the New Beginnings Youth Development Center at Mile 21, George Price Highway, but the legislation does not cover it and there are concerns according to Williams that the youth might be a bad influence there.

Commissioner Williams said he would schedule a meeting with the child’s mother, who has been seeking assistance for him and is aware of his issues.

Minister of Education Francis Fonseca told Channel 7 News on Friday that “…my understanding is the Ministry of Human Development intervened to make sure that young people will be taken out of the prison environment and put in some other facility or some other space that was obviously more suitable. We should not have young people at that age in any prison environment.” An official from that Ministry attending a UNICEF conference concurred, adding, “When we look at all of these issues affecting children, whether it is these child protection cases in terms of abuse, neglect, or otherwise part of what we want to ensure is that as professionals within the child protection system response or that of the juvenile justice system response that we are able to ensure that we are doing so from the best interest out from the child principle…”

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