Kiwanis move to keep children out of courts

Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

The large number of schoolchildren appearing before the courts for various offences is of great concern to the Kiwanis clubs, prompting their Spanish Town branch to launch the Youth Criminal Justice Administration System.

The Spanish Town branch falls within the Division 23 West and clubs from Division 23 East have also been invited to join the project.

Attorney-at-law Anthony Williams, a Kiwanian from Division 23 West who is a key player in the project, told The Gleaner last week that the aim and objective of the club is to sensitise youths about the realities of crime and violence.

"We believe that this Kiwanis movement will have an important role to play to ensure that our youths are properly sensitised as to the consequences of being involved in crime and violence, especially if they are brought before the court," Williams said.

In further outlining the objectives, Williams said the club wanted them to know how the justice system operated.

"We want them to be stimulated in their career choices within the field of law, jurisprudence and criminal justice," he added.

Williams explained that the project was aimed at enhancing career development, inculcating positive values and attitudes, developing a sense of awareness of who were the key players of the justice system. It was also geared at promoting respect among the youths and for them to act as peer counsellors to their peers who may be prone to violence.

"As an attorney myself and seeing the vast number of youngsters before the courts for diverse criminal matters, especially firearms, stealing, drug offences and sexual offences, we wanted them to see the real side of the law," Williams explained.

And so, on December 10 last year, Williams and other members of the Kiwanis Club took a group of students who are Key Club members from various schools to the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court to view court proceedings.

The students were addressed by Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey who encouraged them to open their eyes and observe all the players in the justice system who came into the courtroom. She told them to observe how the lawyers dressed and spoke as well as to have a good look at the accused persons - how some were penitent and some were even students like themselves.

Pusey advised them to look at the persons who came as complainants and witnesses and encouraged them to uphold the law at all times.

Open to talk

Williams said his club was concerned about the low level of respect children were exhibiting to the police. He said the club wanted to assure the children that the police are their friends and so they should feel free to call, speak up and report crimes.

After spending more than an hour in court, the students were escorted to the Half-Way Tree Police Station where Senior Superintendent Derrick 'Cowboy' Knight addressed and showed them ammunition and a firearm which were seized from a premises. The students were allowed to tour the lock-ups and the holding areas and were shown how prisoners are fingerprinted.

Williams said other police officers lectured the students on how to make reports and encouraged them to be good citizens. The police told the students that they were having serious problems with schoolchildren in the Transport Centre at Half-Way Tree because some of them were loitering there after school and some were even committing crimes.

They implored the students to go back to their communities and aim at being good ambassadors.

Williams said the club would keep the project going as the children were very enthusiastic and impressed and all said they were grateful for the experience.