Locked in, locked up

Heavy penalties for leaving children unattended in vehicles

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Although formal reports are seldom, locking children in parked vehicles and leaving them unsupervised is an unlawful act, which can result in penalties for the offender. The Office of the Children's Registry (OCR) informed Automotives that it is regarded as a form of neglect as outlined in the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA) of 2004.

According to the act, "the practice of leaving a child (any person below the age of 18 years old) alone in a parked motor vehicle (or any other instance in which a child is left without adequate supervision) by a parent/guardian is a form of neglect. Neglect, assault, physical/mental ill-treatment, abandonment or exposure causing suffering or injury of any child is defined as cruelty to children according to Section 9, subsection 1 of the Child Care & Protection Act".

Penalty for offence

The OCR also outlined that the penalty for cruelty to children, as stated in Section 9, subsection 2 of the CCPA (2004) is, on conviction in a Circuit Court, a fine or imprisonment with hard labour for a term not exceeding five years or both. On summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate, the fine is $1 million or imprisonment with hard labour for a term not exceeding three years, or both.

While the OCR maintains some responsibility by conducting investigations into reports, it was emphasised that there are a number of other agencies with whom it partners to complete the process. Trevesa DaSilva Ashman, public-education specialist at the OCR said, "these sanctions/actions would not be taken by the OCR, but rather by the courts. The role of the OCR is to receive reports of child abuse, then assess, record and refer these reports to partner agencies for investigation. Partner agencies include the Child Development Agency (CDA), the Office of the Children's Advocate and the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse. If, after investigation, the report is proven to be true, then the perpetrator will be brought before the court that will determine the specific sanction to be meted out".

Ashman revealed that the most common reports of child abuse involving vehicles are sexual. "Following the statistician's search of the database, it revealed that there were eight reports which had the location of abuse being inside a car. However they were mostly sexual abuse cases, with only one being neglect," Ashman said.

On September 3, emergency personnel were called to the Winchester Business Centre in Half-Way Tree where two babies (a pair of twins) had been locked inside a motor car. The father of the twins explained to Gleaner Online that the mother had just placed the children in the rear passenger seat of the car, closed the door and attempted to enter the vehicle when she realised that the locking system malfunctioned and she could not get back in.

The twins, aged two and a half, were just coming from a check-up at the doctor said the father, who asked not to be named.

For about 20 minutes, passers-by, fire personnel and the police tried to open the vehicle and were eventually successful.

The OCR said parents and guardians must be mindful of the possible perils to both themselves and children if the latter are left unsupervised in a car or any other place.

Among the considerations are how will the child be cared for or protected in the event that the child becomes ill and requires medical treatment, or an immediate response needs to be rendered to the child if a harmful incident occurs. In a tropical country, heat is also a consideration, as with an 80 degree Fahrenheit temperature outside, the temperature inside a vehicle can rise 19 degrees in 10 minutes.