Edmond Campbell, Senior News Coordinator

A 74 per cent increase in the number of children in custody for serious crimes has forced the Department of Correctional Services to house some of these juveniles at the Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston and the Fort Augusta Correctional Centre in St. Catherine.

The number rose sharply from 194 in 2005 to 337 as of December 20, 2006. A 51 per cent increase was recorded in 2005, with the number of children in custody for the previous year being 128.

Legal counsel for the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR), Nancy Anderson, said it is unlawful for children to be placed in custody at adult correctional centres.

She said the authorities should ensure that these young persons are housed in facilities for children.

However, Major Richard Reese, commissioner of corrections, says the children on remand at the Fort Augusta Correctional Centre and the Horizon Remand Centre were sent there by the courts, while others were taken from the police.

He said the designated juvenile centres were overcrowded and the Correctional Department had to create "special security posts" at the two adult facilities to house the children.

Committed major crimes

At the Horizon Remand Centre, 38 children are now in custody while at Fort Augusta, 39 girls are in a dormitory. Major Reese pointed out that the children on remand had committed major crimes including murder, assault and sexual offences.

He said four correctional officers have been injured by some of the children on remand this year.

According to Major Reese, three juvenile institutions currently house 321 children. Armadale for girls, which has a capacity of 45, now has 66; Rio Cobre Correctional Centre, which has a capacity of 120, now houses 137, while 118 children are in custody at Hill Top, which has a capacity of 98.

Meanwhile, the Correctional Department has plans to convert the Montpelier camp in St. James into a juvenile correctional centre to house 250 wards.

Major Reese told The Gleaner that his department was getting assistance from a number of donors, including Food For the Poor, to refurbish the facility.

"The department would like to have it commissioned early in the new financial year. If the resources are provided before, we would be able to move much faster," he said.

Ms. Anderson argued that the department's plans to set up a juvenile correctional centre in St. James would make it difficult for parents in the Corporate Area to visit their children in custody.

Major Reese, however, said the department would provide transportation for family members to visit their children.

The commissioner of corrections said that as a long-term measure, his organisation planned to establish regional remand centres for children.

Major Reese said he has encouraged stakeholders and interest groups to use custodial sentencing as a last option.