Jamaican children are frequently detained for months at a time in filthy and overcrowded police lock-ups, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report.
An investigation conducted found that children are often held in the same cells as adults accused of serious crimes, and are often denied adequate food, medical care, education and access to basic sanitary facilities. Many children subjected to such conditions are not suspected of any crime, but are taken into custody because they have been abused, neglected or abandoned. The investigation was conducted by Human Rights Watch in cooperation with the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School.
"Even adult criminals should not be in jails like these," said Jo Becker, Children's Rights Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch. "To keep children in such conditions is simply inexcusable."
Jamaican law prohibits any child from being held in police custody for more than twenty-four hours. Police officers are required immediately to place any child whom they detain in a facility run by the Children's Services Division. Only children suspected of extremely serious and violent offenses are supposed to be placed under maximum security.
"Many of the abuses we've found can be addressed quite easily," commented Becker. "With better communication between the police and Children's Services, more appropriate placements for children can almost always be found."
Human Rights Watch found that lock-ups are invariably overcrowded, with cells frequently holding more than twice the number of detainees for which they were designed. One facility with a capacity of 50 held 138 prisoners, including numerous minors. A lack of beds forces prisoners to sleep on the floors, which are filthy, damp and often covered with urine. Because access to functional toilets is severely restricted, prisoners often have little choice but to urinate and defecate in the cells.
Children detained in cells with adults are often the prey of older prisoners, and some reported being beaten, raped and stabbed. Children are also subject to abuse by police. One fifteen year old girl reported being raped by a police officer while held in a lockup overnight, while others reported abusive language, severe beatings and mock executions.
Children may be detained for months, and in some cases, over a year. One thirteen-year old boy was held for eight months after being accused of stealing a radio. However, despite the long periods of detention, prisoners have no opportunity for physical exercise, and medical care is provided, if at all, only in the event of an emergency. During its investigation, Human Rights Watch interviewed several children who were visibly injured or ill, but had received no medical attention
In addition, most prisoners told Human Rights Watch that they relied on visits from family members to get enough food, as the food supplied in the lockups was limited and of poor quality. In some lockups, children reported going for several days with no food at all, or with only bread.
Children in police lockups in Jamaica have no access to education.
Human Rights Watch also visited a children's home and places of safety designed specifically for children who are in need of care or who are accused of an offense. Conditions in such facilities were significantly better than police lockups, and included educational, vocational and extracurricular programs.
Human Rights Watch today urged the Jamaican government to actively monitor facilities to ensure that children are not improperly detained and to bring Jamaica's juvenile justice system into conformity with international standards for the treatment of children.
In 1994, Human Rights Watch published a report on children in Jamaican police lockups that also documented atrocious conditions. Although slight improvements were made in the wake of the earlier report, the organization reports that most were superficial.
For Further Information, Contact:
In Kingston: Jo Becker (Hotel Indies) 876/926-0989 from July 20-22
Rob Sloane (Hotel Indies) 876/926-0989 from July 20-22
In New York: Jo Becker 212/216-1236 until July 20
Yodon Thonden: 212/216-1236
