Cheap NFL Jerseys uvynas3t

fd9je6mn

By Sharmain GraingerFor years, many juveniles have been charged with wandering and sentenced to a period of purported reform at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC). NOC is essentially a detention centre for juveniles who are too young to be placed in the conventional prison system.However, many officials prefer to call the facility a rehabilitation centre for wayward children (both boys and girls).But during the past week I learnt something interesting about this facility. It was at a press conference conducted by the Women and Gender Equality Commission that media operatives were informed that several of the children, mostly girls,Cheap Jerseys China, who have been unceremoniously shuttled off to this Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast facility, were simply there because they were wandering.This situation is one that has understandably grabbed the attention of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). In fact, former UNICEF Country Representative, Ms. Marianne Flach had taken concerns in this regard to Government during the past year and had even presented proposals to reform the justice system for children in conflict with the law.The UNICEF Country Representative impressed the need for solutions within the administrative regions across Guyana to house youth offenders who commit minor offences. These solutions, she noted, should see juveniles being assigned to facilities closer to their relatives. The outcome she envisioned would be “a much reduced number of children in the NOC, then we can also pay much better attention to their special needs and help them to reintegrate into society”.But from all indications this keen attention has been very lacking. There are reports to suggest that many of these juveniles are not even granted the privilege of accessing legal assistance when they are charged.What was even more interesting to learn is that while the NOC is intended to rehabilitate those guilty of wandering, many of them are reportedly released back into society with the potential of being criminals in the true sense of the word.This has been attributed to the fact that they are exposed sometimes to some already hardened criminals who share the same facility for the purpose of rehabilitation. Of course this reported state of affairs is viewed as very troubling by members of the Commission.But although it might be late for some of the current or past residents of NOC, the Women and Gender Equality Commission together with the Rights of the Child Commission believe, as do many right-thinking people in society, that moves should be enforced forthwith to decriminalise wandering. In so doing it is believed that many juveniles could possibly be spared from even entering a life of crime.Our society can ill-afford to have more criminals recruited to wreak untold havoc.While the possibility exists that those who enter a life of crime at a young age could be rehabilitated, Commissioner on the two Commissions, Ms. Nicole Cole, is adamant that youths by no means should be thrust into a life of crime if it is at all avoidable.Moreover, Cole is convinced that wandering should be viewed as a cry for help. Cole, a professional Social Worker, has long been promoting the use of psychological help for juveniles found wandering rather than extending the long arm of the law to them.Without reservation, she has shared her belief that something, for some time now, has not been right with the institution tasked with the rehabilitation of our youths. Too many unsavoury reports have over the years emanated from this institution.This is a dire need, Cole intimated, for psychosocial services to be extended to the youths of NOC.Cole believes that more effort should be directed at taking advantage of the Social Workers who graduate every year from the University of Guyana. She is convinced that many of the youths of NOC could benefit considerably from an in-house Social Worker rather than a visiting one, a situation that currently obtains.But there is likely to be psychological support for youths found wandering even before this becomes an in-house feature at NOC. In fact there is hope that the wandering charge will become a thing of the past in the near future, with the advent of the Juvenile Justice Bill.The Bill, which has been in the making for over a decade, makes provision for juveniles found wandering to undergo a psychological evaluation before any action is taken against them.This is something that Cole has been advocating for, for a long time. She recalled visiting Springlands, Berbice, to investigate a case which involved a child who was charged with wandering.According to Cole, she found enough evidence to suggest that the child should not have been charged in the first place and instead should have been attended to by a Child Psychologist. The child’s behaviour, she revealed, was consistent with one with mental health issues and not one with criminal intent.“People with mental health issues don’t need to be punished, they need to be placed in an institution where they receive care and support,” Cole related.In fact she pointed out that there have been instances that children have been found wandering simply because they wanted food. She remembers travelling to Mocha on the East Bank of Demerara and was able to rescue six boys from certain detention when she was able to ascertain that they were wandering in the quest to find food.“They were going to be sent to NOC because they were hungry…they were found up in a tree trying to get mangoes….If you are hungry what will you do? You go and look for food; it’s just natural.”Cole is opposed to the wandering charge too, since she is convinced that it was used during the time of slavery to control the activities of slaves. “It really was a slavery thing,” she added.For this reason also, the Commissions have been advocating for the wandering charge to be completely removed from the Constitution.