Speedy transfer sometimes necessary - Police
Published:Sunday | July 10, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
Raquel Morgan, the distraught mother who did not know that her son had been transferred from police lock-up to a place of safety, says she feels better now that her son has been removed from the lock-up, but knowing would have spared her and her family much anguish.
"The system is slack. They should have told us. You can't just move the child without letting the parents know. We don't have a problem with them (children) going to the homes, but we need to know where the kids are," Morgan said when asked about the State moving minors without informing their parents.
The youngster's older sister, Annastacia Kennedy, had this to say: "That's not right because nobody knows where he is. They didn't tell anyone where they were moving him to."
Jennifer McKay prefers to have her grandson in a boys' home and not a police lock-up, but she, too, was peeved over the police's handling of the situation.
"I think that is no principle or etiquette from the police to just move him like that and they had two numbers for us - his mother's number and my number - and not even as much as to say something that they are moving him," McKay said.
She added: "I feel bad and we are worried about his safety."
Concerned
The youngster's mother just wanted to hear his voice. "As much as he is my son and him give little trouble, but he is my child and I am concerned. I want to know where he is. I want to hear my son's voice because I know his voice, I know how him talk. I just want to know if him all right so that I can sleep good at nights," she said.
The unannounced transfer of Morgan's son from one lock-up or penal facility to the next is not unique in Jamaica.
Gloria Thompson, an investigator with the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA), told The Sunday Gleaner that while the practice of shifting minors in conflict with the law from one institution to another without alerting the parents was not widespread, the agency had received complaints of that nature. "We've had a few cases, but not a lot," she said. "But it is not supposed to happen. The police should have informed the parents of his whereabouts.
"The parents' involvement is always critical and recommended," the OCA investigator said. Thompson told our news team that an official at the Child Development Agency (CDA) informed her that when a minor is being transferred, the police should contact the parents and provide the details of the proposed move. When the child arrives at the new facility, the parents should receive another call from an official at the new location to first inform them of the minor's arrival, and second, to outline the visitation procedures.
An inspector of police attached to the Bridgeport Police Station, who declined to be named in this story, said parents are often left out of the loop when a minor is being moved because it is hard to find homes or juvenile facilities with space to accommodate children who have run afoul of the law.
"Places are hard to find, so once a place is found, they (police) move immediately ... so they don't even have time to inform the parents," the inspector said.
An administrator at St John Bosco Boys' Home, who also did not want to be named, confirmed that Morgan's son was at the home. However, she said he was taken there on July 1, and denied that Morgan was initially told that her son was not at the home. She confirmed that the boy's mother would not be allowed to see him until the three-week rule had run its course.
"When a child is brought here, the contact with immediate family is usually not until three to four weeks because sometimes the children are very angry with the parents," she explained.
The administrator admitted that she understood that the three-week rule would be burdensome to Morgan, but insisted that the CDA was well aware of this policy. "Of course, the CDA knows this rule," she said.
Morgan says she plans to visit with her entire family in the next two weeks.