EDITORIAL: Let Metcalfe be the model

Perhaps it is significant that in the same week in August that the nation celebrates Emancipation and Independence, the Metcalfe Street Juvenile Centre in Kingston expects to be fully occupied as a residential facility for troubled boys.

Levels of crime have increased alarmingly since Independence in 1962. Many argue that political activism, which bred a violent gun culture, is to blame for our burgeoning criminality.

News reports indicate there is a festering problem of juvenile violence in schools. For sure, the reasons are many and complex, but whatever the reasons, there is enough evidence to confirm that the public's sense of insecurity is extremely high.

An important aspect of public confidence in the administration of justice concerns the manner in which offenders are treated. Overcrowding and poor facilities, lack of access to timely medical care are among some of the common problems that afflict penal institutions.

A safe and humane environment should be guaranteed all persons in care, even those who break the law. Disappointingly, we hear of too many instances in which the opposite is the norm. The recent case of a juvenile at the Admiral Town police lock-up being bitten by rats thrust the spotlight once again on how people in correctional institutions are prone to abuse and neglect. But there were many others before that, including the deadly Armadale fire, which claimed the lives of seven female wards of the state.

At the Metcalfe Street centre, more than 200 boys who would otherwise be crammed in various lock-ups across the island will have access to rehabilitative services that are designed to transform them into reformed and productive members of society.

Rehabilitating our youth

The description of the state-of-the-art Metcalfe Street facility represents laudable advancement in the justice system. But the role of constructing an effective juvenile justice system will involve much more than a well-equipped multimillion-dollar building. Significant input must also come from lawmakers, court officers, the police, psychologists, counsellors, parents and, ultimately, the community. All stakeholders need to work collaboratively to achieve an outcome that gives a juvenile offender a second chance.

Outfitted with a well-stocked library and classrooms, the centre is equipped to ensure that the juveniles can continue their education and, perhaps, acquire new skills.

The plans outlined by the administration for Metcalfe Street seem like the right approach, in that juveniles should be treated in such a manner that allows them to appreciate that the construct is not so much to punish them but more to create conditions that would encourage their personal and social development. Juvenile institutions should not be allowed to function like their adult counterparts, where most inmates become more hardened by the time they leave.

This Metcalfe Street centre could become a model for other correctional facilities, especially in its collaboration with the Jamaica Defence Force, whose personnel have worked to retrofit the building and are providing surveillance. The lack-of-resources excuse is all too familiar when we fail to deliver social services.

As far as the penal system is concerned, there seems to be an urgent need to employ creative alternatives that will help the nation to combine the conflicting values of mercy and justice into some sort of harmony.

A utopian dream, perhaps, but hopeful outcomes would include spending less on funding prisons, imprisoning fewer people, and having safer communities.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.