Judge strikes out State's defence for detention of minors at a police station

A HIGH COURT judge has struck out the defence of the State in a lawsuit involving the detention of two boys at a police station on enquiries into a shooting incident in 2019.

The two – who are minors so their names cannot be published – were detained at the Homicide Bureau at Riverside Plaza, Port of Spain, for seven days in August 2019.

The boys’ attorney, Lee Merry, challenged their detention, arguing that section 52 of the Children’s Act requires that minors must be detained at a community residence and not a police station. He also argued that the law mandated the police to get in contact with the Children’s Authority when a minor is detained.

In its defence, the State contended that the boys’ detention at Riverside Plaza was because the officer in charge was, at the time, simply “enquiring into the case” as the two had not been charged or taken before a court or granted bail.

However, Merry, in challenging the detention, argued that the act was unambiguous and mandated the police to contact the authority immediately when a minor cannot be taken to court or had not yet been granted bail for an offence.

He contended Riverside Plaza was not a community residence and the officer in charge, never alerted the authority when the boys were detained and this, he maintained, was unlawful. Merry pointed to sections 51 and 52 of the act which says minors cannot get bail on charges which carry a term of imprisonment beyond five years and mandated the police to contact the authority and have minors put in a community residence.

In an oral decision, Justice Kangaloo agreed that the law on the detention of a minor was clear and struck out the State’s defence. The State was represented by attorney Amrita Ramsook of the Chief State Solicitor’s Department.