Dr. Adis King, Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, Youth at Risk, Gender Affairs, Seniors’ Security and Dominicans with Disabilities announced that the Government will participate in a Child Justice programme in collaboration with the Juvenile Justice Reform Project (JJRP) which is a joint initiative between the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Dr. King said, “The project was established to assist Member States of the OECS to reduce the involvement of children in crime and violence and also to help in the matter of legislative reform among other areas, and Dominica fully supports the campaign”.
According to the Minister, there are many adverse effects on the lives of children and society by extension when children get involved in crime.
“The child justice campaign is timely, as it sets aside time to raise awareness about children who commit crimes. It is always saddening in any society when children commit crimes. The effect may not be visible but it runs deep into the social consciousness. Children who commit crimes are endangered; depending on the nature of the crimes, they may become targets for further crime. Their images may be tarnished for the rest of their lives. Indeed, youth crime could have serious consequences”.
The program is expected to run for a period for five months.
