Juveniles held in 'pigsty' cells
Published:Sunday | March 6, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
DESPITE SEVERAL promises to remove children illegally kept in filthy adult lock-ups, the Government of Jamaica continues to break the law. At the end of last month, some 113 children were jailed, awaiting court hearing.
The grim situation was highlighted in a recent report on the services needed for children in lock-ups, by a consultant hired by the Ministry of National Security, which revealed that some juveniles need treatment for drug, alcohol abuse and mental illnesses. These include depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
In February last year, a damning Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA) Special Report to Parliament on Children in Lock-ups was tabled in Gordon House. It revealed that as of November 4, 2009 there were 61 juveniles in police custody, 58 of whom were males.
Five months later, The Sunday Gleaner reported that the number of minors being held in adult jail cells swelled to 105 as at June 18, 2010. The report also highlighted the poor conditions under which children were held at the Freeport Police Station in Montego Bay, St James.
Filthy conditions
An OCA special Report on Children in the Custody of the Police, dated February 9, 2011, reveal that conditions under which children are jailed have not improved. It highlighted filthy conditions at several police stations including Moneague in St Ann, Half-Way Tree and Admiral Town in Kingston, and Glengoffe in St Catherine.
"One child was heard making a commotion when I got there as someone had thrown urine on him from the other cell," an OCA investigation officer wrote in the report, a copy of which was obtained by our news team.
The report continued: "There are six or seven children in each cell. There are no beds for the children to sleep on; it's just pure concrete. This situation is quite unbearable for any human being to tolerate, much less a child.
"'Filthy' is a mild descriptor when referring to the state of the toilet and bathing facilities at the police lock-up," the officer said, making reference to the fact that "the continued holding of children in these run-down, dilapidated police lock-ups is a breach of the rights and well-being of children.
"To be held in these small cells (that) can be described as a furnace by daytime and a freezer by night ... . This is in contravention of our laws and international commitments," the investigator noted.
Another report, dated January 19, 2010, revealed that juveniles were held in unsatisfactory conditions at the Admiral Town Police Station lock-up. "The cells were dark and cold and there was no preparation made for them as to the minimum standards.
"They are let out of their cells for five minutes each day to have a bath and use the toilet. They have to pass their urine in bottles while they are locked down, which is 24 hours a day," the report said.
Health concerns
The OCA investigation officer also pointed out that the minors reported that they contracted fungus from the conditions in the cells and from sleeping on the cold concrete. "They complain of roaches crawling over them most of the times, even in the days while they are in the cells," the report added.
The January 19 report also exposed that juveniles held at the Half-Way Tree (HWT) lock-up slept on concrete bunks and were provided with bottles into which to pass their urine.
Some of these minors get lost in the system and languish under the tough conditions for months, said the report. According to the investigation officer, two of the juveniles were held in Trelawny on December 27, 2009 and charged with possession of ganja. They were then transferred the HWT police lock-up for an ID parade because it was said that the police in Kingston had an interest in them.
The Major Investigations Unit subsequently interviewed the minors on Saturday, January 15, 2010. After the interview, the unit said that they did not have any interest in the two juveniles "at this time". The boys had a court date in Clark's Town four days later but were not picked up by the police. "A very common practice where juveniles are concerned who are in conflict with the law," the report stated.
Another report done in May 2010 showed that 10 minors were being held at the Glengoffe Police Station lock-up at that time. The juveniles were between the ages of 13 and 17.
In March 2010, the Government pledged to allocate $174 million to refurbish the Montpelier facility in St James to house juveniles who are remanded. However, the facility is not yet completed.