Juvenile Centre to rehabilitate youths!
“Young people that are falling prey to crime, we take them and we send them to prison, we do not have a rehabilitation programme in place so they come out and they fall prey again and they go back. It is important that we get some sort of juvenile centre here, don’t you think so?” Sylvester asked residents during a meeting held in the 8th district at Hope Hill on Friday October 14, 2011.
Sylvester explained to residents that a Juvenile Centre rehabilitates youngsters who fall prey to crime, ensures they learn a trade and they find a job before they leave, and they are able to fit into society as a normal citizen.Currently, young male who commit crimes and requires custodial sentences are taken to Her Majesty’s Prison at Balsum Ghut.
Recently, a former legislator and 8th district representative Lewis Walters in an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online, disclosed that prison is not the best solution for youths who have committed criminal offenses and recommended a similar solution.
“It has always been my thought that catching criminals, especially younger people and putting them in a prison, is not the answer. To me that doesn’t solve anything. My feeling is to provide a safe place to have younger people who are out of order, who commit crimes and to give them an opportunity to learn like a boys’ school. They are detained not in handcuffs and special uniform and what not but where they can’t have access to communities when they feel like,” Mr. Walters had said.
Meanwhile, Sylvester said there is also no rehabilitation programme in general for persons who have been sentenced to serve in prison which leads to repeat crimes by those individuals.“Another problem we have is the adults go to prison and when they go, they are not rehabilitated so they come out and guess what, they go right back in because the system has failed to put procedures, policies in place to help persons to put themselves back into society.”
Sylvester said by the time an inmate leaves the prison, they should have something in place where that person is attached to a part time job somewhere.
He said he knew of someone who spent 15 years in prison, came out and couldn’t fit back into society which he said is not right.
The district candidate warned that if it is not addressed these problems, “these things are going to come back to haunt us and haunt our tourism product because we will have the money or the ones who will seem to be doing well but because we fail to help them they are going to come for us.”
He said the problem should therefore be seen as "our problem" and everyone must come together as a people and tell the government no longer will" we allow you to in there and not prepare for our youths".
“It is important that we understand this fundamental point, if you are between the ages of 18 and 35, when you go to polls, you are voting for your future. If you are between 36 and 60, you are voting for yourself, children and grandchildren, and if you are 61 and older, you are voting for your great grandchildren, for your investment and for your retirement. My people do not play with your future, your investment and retirement. Do not play with it.”
Sylvester will come up against three other candidates vying for the 8th district seat. The other candidates are incumbent Virgin Islands Party Dancia Penn QC, National Democratic Party Marlon Penn and Independent Als’ Nolan Davis.
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