The Tribune

THE government will ensure that a proper follow-up programme is put in place for discharged residents of the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys in order to facilitate their return to society, Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage said.

Addressing the first ever Gala Ball of the Visiting Committee of Simpson Penn, Dr Nottage said the follow-up programme should also help to reduce the recidivism rate at the juvenile reform centre.

The National Security Minister said former residents of the facility often face “too many distractions” upon their return to their neighbourhoods and must be better equipped to deal with those negative influences in order to live fulfilling, crime-free lives.

“The distractions, or some would say attractions, in the society are many and can cause many to stumble and fall, hence, support for discharged residents is vital if the advances achieved while at the centre are to be maintained,” Dr Nottage said.

“While there are many aspects of criminality in the Bahamas that sadden me, chief among them is the rate of recidivism. All recidivists are not hardened criminals; many are persons who, having once committed a crime for which they were incarcerated, are never accepted again into their families or their communities. Unable to find steady employment or a group of accepting peers, they live much of their lives caught in the criminal justice system.

“I do not want this to be the fate of young men who pass through the Simpson Penn Centre. I want the centre to be a haven of hope that provides training and discipline and through its interventions, helps to build inner-strength in its residents so that they can withstand the challenges they will face upon discharge.

“The guiding principle of Simpson Penn must be to teach the young men who pass through its gates that with hard work and determination, they can be somebody,” Dr Nottage said.

The National Security Minister said there are “any number of reasons why” juveniles engage in activities that result in their committal to the centre.

Professionals, he said, have “successfully agitated” over the years for juvenile offenders to be treated differently from adults, hence the establishment of juvenile courts and juvenile detention centres.

Those same professionals have also successfully argued that in dealing with juvenile offenders, the focus should be on rehabilitation as opposed to punishment.

Dr Nottage said the Bahamas has adhered to these principles and in New Providence the Juvenile Court sits four days per week and matters are adjudicated by a panel comprised of a magistrate as the chair, and lay persons from the community as members, with the stipulation that a female member must be present at each sitting of the panel.

“There are any number of reasons why juveniles engage in activities that result in their committal to the centre and while both governmental and non-governmental organisations seek to address these on a daily basis and will continue so to do, young persons will continue to find themselves before the juvenile court and committed to the Simpson Centre for various periods of time.

“The question is, then what? The answer, they return to the communities from which they came, but hopefully they return as different persons depending on their experiences while at the centre. Hopefully for our sake and theirs, the experiences at the centre and the interventions will have the effect of the theme for this event, ‘Saving Boys, Building Men’,” Dr Nottage said.