New remand facility for girls identified

The Minister of Youth, Lisa Hanna says lands have been identified for the construction of what has been described as a best practice correctional and remand facility for girls.

Hanna’s disclosure comes amidst heavy lobbying by advocacy groups and civil society against the practice of housing children in conflict with the law in adult correctional facilities.

Last month, those calls intensified following the reported suicide of Vanessa Wint, a 16-year-old ward of the state, who was at the Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston, a facility that also houses adults.

Hanna said detailed costing which runs into millions of dollars has been provided for the facility.

She said in the interim the South Camp Road Rehabilitation Centre will be upgraded to house the girls, who are now at the Fort Augusta Prison.

Hanna said the rehabilitated facilities at South Camp will host the girls separately from adults.

Earlier this year when this suggestion was made by the Commissioner of corrections, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Prendergast, it was condemned by a number of civil society groups and individuals who insisted it’s the same as housing the children with adults.

In the meantime, Hanns said the JEEP secretariat is now completing estimates for self-contained facilities as Best Practice Holding Centres designated for children to be built at selected police stations.

She said the ideal situation will be to have one of these facilities per parish, so that children in lock-ups will be accommodated separately from adults.

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