PM addresses plans for new Rehabilitation Centre

By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas

Exactly three days after the ground-breaking ceremony, in his monthly press conference, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, expressed his expectations of the centre. He highlighted that as crime is one of the focal areas for the government, the effort is a part of its strategy of keeping peace within the Federation.

“This undertaking, although it is actually under the umbrella of the Ministry of Community and Social development, it is really as a direct and crucial component of our own government’s overall crime fighting strategy,” he stated.

He emphasised that the centre may not be directly involved in the arrest, trial and imprisonment, but rather would play a pivotal role in keeping “at risk children” from the high risk choices that they have.

PM Douglas stressed that the new centre would not be operating under the exact system of the previous one, and revealed that the critical changes would encourage a much better place for rehabilitation.   ~~Adz:Right~~

He explained that the facility would be a part of a comprehensive child development project which would embrace the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.  He stressed that it would not be primarily concerned with the detention of juveniles, but rather ensures that children who had escaped the scrutiny and sensitivity of child care providers and happen to fall into crime would be rehabilitated.

“The centre is not just a building of mortar and bricks; it is part of a child development project. The centre must be operated by professionally trained people and, central to the operations, must be the preservation of the rights of the child who is placed in that centre,” he added.

The new Minister of National Security particularly underlined the need for the new child development effort to be a cooperative one, as he placed great concentration on the role of the family and the school.

He projected that there would be training for the staff at schools, especially at the primary level, in order to be able to detect, at a very early age, different behavioural and attitudinal patterns which are not conducive to learning and may stunt social and academic growth.

“Teachers should be able to detect slow learners and identify why that child may be having problems. We want to be able to sharpen the detection skills of the teachers and guidance counsellors so that these problems can be easily detected and solved in a professional way.

“We have taken a long time to negotiate this [project] since 2005, because we want to get it right. We didn’t just want to have a building. It is not any good to rebuild a home exactly like the Harris’ Home which was destroyed by fire,” he said.

Dr. Douglas admitted that the project has been long awaited but stated that it is never too late. He added, “If the centre saves one child from becoming a criminal, it can never be too late. That is one criminal less in this country. Never can it be too late!”

The new Co-ed Rehabilitation Centre is a key component in a six-fold plan, with each part being equally critical to the success of the project.