The crime of 'uncontrollable'

Patrick Lalor, Contributor

AFTER SPEAKING with quite a few young ladies in the custody of the Depart-ment of Correctional Services and a few officers who worked with them, I learnt something new about the term 'uncontrollable'.

I was a bit confused, so, in order to clear my head, I consulted a few credible sources and finally settled with what was already clear to me. The term uncontrollable means 'incapable of being controlled'. However, I saw no definition that suggested that the term can be defined as a crime in any way. So I consulted the sociologist and the psychologist, and all I could find was the theory that purports that how a child is socialised can make him defiant to authority and deemed uncontrollable.

I went further to consult the law books and found nothing to suggest that the term uncontrollable refers to a crime. Mind you, we are all aware that being uncontrollable can lead to criminal actions, but being uncontrollable in and of itself is not a crime. Surprisingly, however, in my research, I found that judges in Jamaican courts have the power to commit minors to correctional facilities if they are deemed uncontrollable.

WRONG SYSTEM

This revelation made it clear why so many minors at the Fort August Adult Correctional facility answer 'uncontrollable' when asked what offence they committed to warrant being there. The children themselves don't even understand why they are in prison. The poor correctional officers are left with the task of trying to explain to them what uncontrollable means and why it landed them in prison.

It appears to me that something is obviously wrong with the system we have in place that allows judges to commit children deemed uncontrollable to adult correctional facilities.

Is this intended to help? How so? A child that is uncontrollable speaks to a deep social problem: this is indicative of failing families, schools and social services.

It is often said that children live what they learn and, despite the fact that this is debatable, its veracity cannot be questioned in the end. The meagre percentage that may prove the contrary is far too small to nullify the validity of the statement. When we allow a child that is uncontrollable to be committed to an adult correctional facility, we are only making that child even more uncontrollable. Being held in a controlled environment does not make one controllable. It is addressing the socials ills that lead to such 'uncontrollability' in the first place that will adequately fix the problem.

I will be first to hold someone to task when they fail to fulfil what they are commissioned to do, but I will not deem the person responsible when they are entrusted with more than they are intended for.

When we talk about the situation with our minors, many lash out at the Department of Correctional Services, but I do not agree. The facility at Fort Augusta is not designed or was ever intended for minors. No commissioner of corrections or his staff can overrule such an order. They are, therefore, forced to accept them and struggle to deal with issues they are not equipped for.

REVISIT LAWS

We, therefore, need to lash out at our legislators. They are the ones who put such powers in the hands of judges, and only they can remove it. The laws that allow this need to be revisited and revamped urgently or we will find that we are nurturing a future filled with monsters.

I will agree that some of these children may very well need to be housed in a controlled environment where they can be properly managed, but this is not supposed to be a prison.

They need to be housed in a facility fit for minors with the requisite infrastructure and expertise to foster good values and attitudes while addressing the deeper psychological issues. They must be in a facility where they have proper counselling and psychological services and where a home setting is maintained as much as possible. They will have persons trained in child welfare to interact with on a daily basis, and only then will we start seeing the desired changes.

This, however, must always be the last resort. The first priority must be to have the child placed with, a responsible family member (in the case where the parent or guardian is deemed unfit) where it is felt that he or she will receive adequate care and supervision. When this is not possible, a responsible guardian or family member should be found to place the child with, and when all these avenues have been explored to no avail, then the facility comes into play.

Patrick Lalor is a human rights activist. Send comments to columns@gleanerjm.com or patricklalor727@yahoo.co.uk.