Introduction
Efforts towards enhancing juvenile justice
One of the priority areas for the Sierra Leone Government following the end of the war was justice sector reform, including juvenile justice. The government transformed the Ministry of Social Welfare into the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, with additional mandate to handle, inter alia, gender and children’s issue, management of Remand Homes, and Approved Schools.
The laws relating to juvenile justice in Sierra Leone date far back as 1960. As part of efforts to bring the laws relating to child rights in line with the Millennium, the Sierra Leone Parliament passed into law the Child Rights Act in 2007, which introduced several innovations in juvenile justice. Among others, the law gave some responsibility to the Family Supports Unit (FSU) of the Sierra Leone Police to help provide protection for children who may be victims of family neglect arising from broken relationships or homes.
The Sierra Leone Government has also ratified various international instruments aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of children, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juveniles, commonly known as the Beijing Rules. All of these Conventions are geared towards promoting juvenile justice and the rights of the child in particular.
To legislate is definitely a big, first step but enforcing the legislation is arguably the most important step. It is, therefore, important that the structures required for the enforcement of the law are established and fully funded. In a bid to effectively ensure that the justice sector is strengthened, the government in partnership with DFID introduced the Pilot National Legal Aid scheme (PNLA) that provides pro bono legal services to deserving Sierra Leoneans
Current status of juvenile justice
As part of this research, CARL-SL interviewed public officials working on juvenile issues in order to get first hand information on the current state of juvenile justice in the country.
PNLA and its interventions in juvenile justice
PNLA officially started work in January 2010 with the mandate of providing legal advice and representation for accused persons or offenders, monitor prisons and police stations, among others. PLNA seeks to ensure that indigent and vulnerable groups (especially women, disabled and juveniles) who come in conflict with the law are assisted with legal representation, advice, follow up at police stations, prisons, approved schools, remand homes. According to PNLA officials, they are in regular contact with the officer-in-charge of the Remand Home and authorities at Pademba Road prison to ensure that juveniles at the adult facilities are relocated to the Approved School. Prior to the establishment of the PNLA scheme, many juveniles were reportedly being held in detention without any charge or indictment but PNLA has since made efforts to contact the office of the Attorney General to get indictments prepared for those young persons who have been detained indefinitely.
A glance at juvenile cases handled by PNLA from January 2010 to August 2011
Since it started operations in January 2010, PNLA has provided legal representations for hundreds of young persons. In the case of juveniles, the office is mostly approached by their parents or loco parentis for assistance, while paralegals of PNLA, DCI and other organizations help in providing justification for such representations. From January 2010 to December 2010, PNLA provided legal representation for 295 juvenile cases, out of which 141 were discharged, whilst the others were referred or sentenced. For the first three quarters of 2011 (January to September 2011), PNLA provided 401 legal representation for juvenile cases, and 114 of these have been discharged or adjourned sine die.
Comparing data on juveniles at Remand Home and Approved School for 2010 to August 2011
From the figures given by the MSWGCA, no female juvenile has been at the Approved School since 2010. Figures from the Remand Home, however, show that August 2011 recorded a higher number of female juveniles at the Remand Home compared to August 2010. Also, there were 58 juveniles in August 2011, the highest number of juveniles at the Remand Home in a single month throughout 2010. MSWGCA’s Probation Officer Mr. Sheik Sawanneh attributed the increase in the number of juveniles at the Remand Home to the violence that marred the 2011 inter secondary schools sports competition. The PNLA counsel said larceny seems to be the most prevalent offence among juveniles.
Common offences committed by juveniles
Among the offences committed by juvenile offenders, larceny seems to be at the top of the list, closely followed by robbery with violence, wounding with intent, and abuse of young girls. PNLA’s Haffie Haffner attributed this to the breakdown in family units, and the proliferation of less privileged kids in the streets.
Challenges/constraints
Even though a lot of strides have been made by both the government and its development partners in the administration of juvenile justice as noted above, officials working on juvenile justice say they face serious challenges relating to inadequate personnel, logistics and procedural issues. The Remand Home for instance has not been permanently assigned any vehicle by the ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs to convey juvenile offenders to and from court proceedings.
Lack of adequate training for Magistrates and Police Officers.
The Juvenile Court is expected to have an informal setting, which means that officials who preside over juvenile-related cases require a special training in juvenile matters. Lawyer Haffner said court officials dealing with juvenile matters have not received sufficient training to adequately handle such matters. Additionally, some court officers and police officers are not fully abreast with the Child Rights Act 2007 and other child-related legal instruments. Although stakeholders dealing with juvenile matters have been conducting trainings for some FSU police officers in the past, the absence of FSUs at certain police stations means that juvenile matters are still being handled by police officers with little or no training on juvenile matters. The two PNLA counsels expressed disappointment over the low level of education in procedural law exhibited by some police officers, thus making it difficult for them to carry out their job and, by extension, failing to meet the needs of most complainants.
Age Assessment
It is alleged that most young persons who come in conflict with the law tend to lie about their age in order to receive lighter sentences. There is an Age Assessment Guide which is used to ascertain the age of the juvenile offender. In most cases, the Magistrate will undertake preliminary age assessment. Though the PNLA sometimes assists in age assessment as a way of assisting the bench, the onus lies on the police prosecutors, usually with assistance from the Bench, to carry out age assessment. If they cannot ascertain the age of the juvenile, the matter is referred to a medical doctor for verification.
Fines/compensation and sentence
According to Lawyer Sesay, some of the sentences being handed down by magistrates on juveniles are against the principle of reformation, which is the goal of juvenile justice. The options for sentences available in Cap 44 include caution and discharge, binding over to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace, entrusting the juvenile in care of certain organizations or persons, repatriation by MSWGCA, and detention at Approved School - the last option that can be used. As far as repatriation is concerned, the Ministry lacks the capacity to carry out this mandate. According to Barrister Sesay, there is no limit on the amount of fine that can be imposed. Cap 44, for instance, only mentions fine and compensation without providing specific details. Lawyer Haffner said imposing fine on a juvenile who has no source of income is harsh, and suggested that the court should impose the fine on the parent and not the child as Cap 44 requires members of the bench to consider the background of the juvenile before imposing a fine. This is made worse by the fact that parents are generally reluctant to stand as surety for their kids who fall in conflict with the law.
Status of juvenile above age 18 at Approved school
In accordance with section 26 of Cap 44, no juvenile should be at the Approved School after attaining the age of 18. The law is silent on what should happen to a juvenile committed to Approved School when he/she turns 18. Should he/she remain at Approved School or be relocated to Pademba Road Prison? Lawyer Haffner asked rhetorically.
No PNLA operations in the provinces.
There is always the saying that Freetown is not Sierra Leone, thus with the activities of PNLA confined to the Western Area, juveniles in the provinces are left out of this facilities.
Educational facilities at Approve School
The Approved School currently does not have a formal education system. It offers only skills training. Apart from a few NGOs that conduct classes once a week, there is no formal education at the school. This means that if a juvenile was attending formal school before coming in conflict with the law, his or her education would be affected as they are never allowed to leave the facility to attend normal school.
Transportation facilities
Disposing of cases in a speedy and fair manner is crucial in determining the strength of a judicial process, but the lack of assigned vehicles to convey “detainee juveniles” to court is an issue that needs to be addressed. The JSDP and DCI have been providing some commendable support in this regard. The limited budgetary appropriation by the Government to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs has been an added constraint in the smooth management of juvenile justice.
Issues of concern
The challenges facing juvenile justice are huge, despite the immense progress that has been made since the end of the war. The following suggestions, though not exhaustive, could help address some of those issues.
The government and development partners:
The government, through its development partners, should increase budgetary appropriation to the MSWGCA in order to repatriate juveniles who are discharged, and help cushion some of their logistic and personnel needs. This would help overcome some of the difficulties confronting both the Remand Home and Approved School.
Government and well meaning organizations should help provide teachers for the Approved School to undertake both formal and non-formal education for offenders.
Police officers who have received training on juvenile matters should share their skills and knowledge with their colleagues to ensure smooth transition, particularly after they are transferred. Government should ensure that FSUs are established within all police stations across the country, and assign social welfare officers to them.
Government should also prioritize the training of police officers, Justices of the Peace (JPs), court officials, Magistrates, and other personnel on juvenile matters and procedural law in order to complement the efforts of non-governmental organizations.
Efforts should be made to enact the National Legal Aid Act by parliament. A legal aid law could help address some of the difficulties juvenile defendants face when they come in conflict with the law.
Faith based organizations/individuals
Faith based organizations and NGOs generally should continue to complement other organizations that have been training police officers and Magistrates on juvenile matters. They should approach the court to take in juveniles who would require continued guidance and rehabilitation.
Judiciary
Magistrates on juvenile matters should consider other sentencing option such as caution and discharge, binding over to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace, entrusting the juvenile in care of certain organizations or persons, repatriation by MSWGCA instead of committing to Approved School which is the last option. Fines should be imposed based on the background of the juvenile.
