Police response to abandoned child 'a concern'

The Minister with Responsibility for Youth, Olivia Grange, says she is concerned about the reported response of the Police to previous reports that a child who was left alone in an abandoned building was being abused.



The two-year-old girl was found in an old building on Spanish Town Road after being left there for days by her teen mother.



Residents of the area say the police said they had no reason to believe the child was being abused after they made reports.



Grange says it is not for the police to determine whether a person is fit and proper to take care of a child whom it is suspected is being abused.



She says the duty of the police is to report these matters to the Child development Agency (CDA) which has the competence by law to make such a determination.



She has called on the CDA to immediately investigate the issue and to make public their findings.



Grange also says she is concerned about the circumstances that could have caused the 19-year-old mother, Nicolette Ledford, to act in such an unnatural way.



Ledford has been detained under the Child Care and Protection Act.



Meanwhile, Grange is appealing to members of the public to report any sign of child abuse or neglect within their communities to the CDA without hesitation.



She says that she was concerned that there may be other children suffering similar cruelties in other communities unknown to the CDA.



According to Grange, even in cases where a report is made to the Police, individuals should still make a report to the CDA.



She is reminding the public that the Child Care and Protection Act makes it the duty of every adult to report every incident or suspicion that a child has been, is being, or is likely to be ill-treated, abused, abandoned or neglected, or is in need of care and protection.



The toll free number for the CDA is 1-888-PROTECT.