Safer TT means safer Caribbean

YVONNE WEBB

CHARGE d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Port of Spain, John McIntyre said the Children Court which was opened in Fyzabad on Wednesday, compliments the US Government’s ongoing work in the region to eliminate security threats.

“A safer TT means a safer Caribbean region,” McIntyre told the audience which included Chief Justice Ivor Archie who also opened the Children Court in Port of Spain. McIntyre said this is a ground-breaking achievement for TT and the Caribbean region and praised Archie for his initiative in developing the facility.

The US has been instrumental in the creation of the Juvenile Court Project (JCP) which focuses on the rehabilitation to reduce the possibility of youth re-offending or becoming criminalised or radicalised. McIntyre recalled it started four years ago, with an approach by the United Nations Development Program and the TT Judiciary to the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

“Since 2014, we have worked in partnership to change how children are treated when they come into contact with the justice system – whether through the police, c orrections institutions, probation or social service providers, the courts, or non-government agencies,” McIntyre said.

“These groups have various roles to play as stakeholders, but share the same objective of rehabilitating young offenders and using approaches that reduce the numbers of youth that return to the justice system.”

He explained the JCP focuses on revising laws to have a more restorative and rehabilitative approach and provide training to agencies’ staff to effectively contribute to an improved juvenile justice system. It also invests in improved data management that better informs judicial agencies’ decision-making processes.

The project has introduced peer resolution, through which youth play an active role in delivering justice to their peers and communities and has also supported investment in the infrastructure of new courts that focus on children and families.

“We celebrate the collective effort that was necessary to achieve this important milestone. It is especially gratifying that residents of Fyzabad and surrounding areas can now benefit from improved judicial services right here in their community as opposed to having to travel to Port of Spain.