By Robert A Emmanuel
As school officials, parents, students, and other members of the public reel from the recent spate of violence allegedly perpetrated by teenaged gang members, government officials have begun discussions to find solutions to the concerning issue.
Gangs reportedly known as 2Drilly and 700 Bones have been in the media spotlight as the perpetrators of cutlass attacks on students attending the Ottos Comprehensive School, Antigua Grammar School, and the Princess Margaret School.
On Wednesday, Attorney General and Minister for Public Safety Steadroy Benjamin was the first to announce the review of the Child Justice Act.
“I can tell you that … the Minister of Education will be convening a meeting with the heads of the two schools and the police will also be conducting their own strategy meeting,” he told state media.
“It has been brought to my attention that the Child Justice Act may not be appropriate in these circumstances. We changed our laws some time ago and this meant that young children who get into problems have to follow a certain procedure,” the Attorney General said, adding that the prosecution of the perpetrators of these incidents should not be hindered by the law.
The Child Justice Act, which was passed in 2016, sought to establish a criminal justice process for minors accused of committing offences based on restorative justice, as well as protecting the rights of children.
Yesterday, the notes from Cabinet revealed that officials in the Ministry of Social Transformation had been directed to “have its social workers and others trained in this field to provide a paper that addresses solutions, to the Cabinet, as soon as possible”.
And, during yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing, Cabinet spokesperson Melford Nicholas revealed some of the government’s thinking.
For example, as one of the institutions that once served as the rehabilitation centre for young delinquent males — the Boys’ Training School — remains under repair, Nicholas gave reporters an update on its reopening.
“The Minister of Social Transformation under whom the Boys Training School has fallen indicated yesterday [Wednesday] that the funds were procured through a grant for rehabilitation of the facilities.
“It is under construction at the moment, and the estimate is that for the new school term starting in January that the facilities be again available,” he said.
Another talking point was whether the type of music youth listened to had any influence on the gang attacks, or encouraged delinquent behaviour, to which the Minister responded, “There needs to be certain regulations governing the cleanliness of music that is playing on the airways … it is something that we are going to have to look at responsibly as a society.”
Meanwhile, the police have also expressed their intent to address the matter of youth-on-youth violence, police spokesperson Inspector Frankie Thomas revealed earlier this week.
“The police senior administration will be meeting [today] to discuss this and several other issues concerning our youths,” Inspector Thomas told Observer.
He also disclosed that officials in the Ministry of Education were in dialogue with the police about this matter.
