The District “A” Juvenile Court held its annual open session last week at UN House in association with UNICEF. Juvenile matters are usually dealt with in camera, but on this occasion, the presiding magistrate used the opportunity to present the report on a 108-page study of 274 cases, extracted from case histories she had been collecting between February 2006 and July 2010, to professional stakeholders involved in the process of administering juvenile justice in Barbados.In a lengthy interview with the Sunday Sun, Marshall-Harris discussed the study done in collaboration with Canadian research assistant Anastasia Bondarenko through UNICEF, and the reasons for holding the open court session.“The idea of having a session with them [the stakeholders] was that they could hear what had been put into the study and for them to make some final interventions and contributions,” the magistrate explained.Representatives of the Royal Barbados Police Force, the church, the Probation Department, school principals and guidance counsellors, the National Youth Service and a host of other people connected with juvenile justice attended the open court sitting.But Marshall-Harris explained the intention of the open court was also to alert the public to “what dangers are lurking, what they need to pay attention to”.Tiny fractionShe told the Sunday Sun: “I want to stress that there are approximately over 66 000 children in Barbados. I am therefore talking about a tiny fraction. The vast majority of our children are good and law-abiding, but we do have an element we have to watch. We have to be alert because we must guard the majority.” As she addressed the open court session, Marshall-Harris spoke passionately about her experiences with the young people coming before her, and her “rescue mission”.Reading from the report co-authored by her and Bondarenko, Marshall-Harris stated: “Young offenders should be seen as both perpetrators and victims. The criminality of children is a measure of the violence in the broader society.” These are two of her mantras. She pointed out that children were more often victims than perpetrators. “They are victims of circumstance, victims of physical, psychological and sexual abuse and of adults involving them in criminality.“A lot of the young persons we see are really suffering in one way or another, and their being brought before the court is often a reaction to being victimised.” She said though there was no denying there were some children determined to be perpetrators, despite being provided with “the best rehabilitative treatment” by the court, the analysis showed those were in the minority, whereas the majority were actually suffering from some form of cognitive challenge or behavour disorder that led them to the court.“The District “A” Juvenile Court over time has developed an approach which is more rehabilitative and restorative, rather than punitive. I believe that whatever the court does, it should primarily concentrate on rehabilitation of juveniles and this is why the school, the probation reports, the psychological evaluations are routinely requested and very necessary, so that we can identify the factors causing the offence,” Marshall-Harris told those at the open court session.During the regular Wednesday sitting, the Juvenile Court magistrate foregoes her seat on the bench, instead taking a place beside the court clerk, as part of the circle of care which she developed. Also seated in the circle are representatives of various social agencies and experts whose assistance is sought for the best outcome for the young offender.Marshall-Harris told the Sunday Sun: “Some people interpret that to mean that I will not punish children for wrongdoing and that I will let them off for everything. Rehabilitation“That is not what it means. It means that we will try rehabilitation, we will try as much therapy as possible until we have run out of the options. “When we realise that we have to lower the boom and we have to commit because the juvenile is not responding to our interventions.” To her credit, the study shows very few offenders are returning before the court. The statistics also indicate that she has had to commit only 21 per cent of all the cases she has seen. She has often turned to the Barbados Youth Service, and reported seeing “a tremendous turnaround” in those sent there.“You would not recognise them. They are well groomed, they are walking taller, they are speaking better. Because somebody is caring for them. “I would like to see the Youth Service extended. I would like to see another institution for teenagers, especially that 13 to 16 age group who are victims of their environment and who have become perpetrators because of it. “The environment needs to be changed. They need care, but they do not need committal.” Major issueThe study identifies parenting as a major issue. Marshall-Harris pointed out it was not that “the single-parent, female-headed family was dysfunctional”. “What we found is that the support systems which traditionally supported such a family is no longer there. The extended family seemed to be breaking down, and grandmothers are out partying too! “Sometimes the best way to get a child on the right track is just to remove him from the negative environment. But the hardest thing sometimes is to find an alternative such as an uncle or aunt who is prepared to be a guardian. “A lot of our children before the court are victims of their environment, whether it is in the home or on the block.”She noted the effect on boys of overcrowding in the home. “. . . The boys are only there to sleep, the boys are on the outside and that is where they fall into the block culture.” Marshall-Harris remarked on the number of schoolgirls and schoolboys coming before her with a violent history, and on the growing level of violence in schools. “A lot of the time I am dealing with charges against a juvenile who has really been a victim of the gangs, and they have decided to retaliate. In a sense the gang culture explains the eruption of the violence. Our knowledge about gangs comes from the juveniles who tell us of their involvement in gangs or by way of the facts supplied by the police attached to the charge sheet. “It appears to be related also to the prevalence of drug use. Whatever the cause there is an eruption of violence in the secondary schools and the gangs are making them battlegrounds.” However Marshall-Harris is determined to rescue the juveniles coming before her, connecting with them, following up on their rehabilitation, and routinely mandating them to return to the court to update her on their progress. lgercinecarter@nationnews.com
