THE CHILD CARE BOARD (CCB) came in for some criticism from Coroner Manila Renee yesterday as she delivered her ruling in the inquest into the death of 12-year-old Shemar Weekes.
She voiced her concern about the way allegations of abuse relating to Weekes, who was found hanging in a shed at his St lucy home on May 14, 2015, were dealt with.
Renee said that the CCB, which is charged with looking after the welfare of children, could have pursued the allegations of abuse more aggressively. She added “it would be helpful for the Child Care Board going forward to provide statistics regarding their operations with respect to their handling of reports of child abuse; for example, the number of cases referred to the courts”.
She said the “presence of a glaring deficiency or discrepancy between the number of reported cases of child abuse and the invocation of the legislation may be an indication that more aggressive action by the Child Care Board should be considered”. She stated that the “signalling of a strong message” by the agency of criminal proceedings might “operate to drastically affect a reduction in the number of reported cases” and this would lighten its weighty case load. (GBM)
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