Boys Training Centre.
Opposition Leader Dr. Gale Rigobert has called on government to pump more resources into the Boy’s Training Centre (BTC), so that it could execute its mandate more effectively.
Dr. Rigobert comment comes in light of a recent media reports about the state of affairs at the centre.
“I am making an urgent plea to the government to pay closer attention to what is happening at the BTC. We have had too many horror story attached to that institution,” she stated.
The opposition leader noted that in every society there will be some level of deviance, especially among youths and it is the responsibility of the government to make provisions to correct youth deviance.
“The BTC for a long time been seen as a institution involved in rehabilitating people who may have for the time being at least gone along the wrong path,” she added
However, Dr. Rigobert believes that the level of rehabilitation one would expect to take place at the BTC seems to be falling short of expectations, which needs to be addressed soon.
“I lament the fact that I’ve heard many people referred to the BTC, as the breeding ground for criminals, but that is not the intent,” she explained.
Rather, the BTC was created to offer a space within which young boys, who are displaying signs of deviance and would have been involved in some crime, can go through a programme of rehabilitation.
She said, “Given the problems that beset that agency, it is appearing that it is becoming difficult for the BTC to satisfy its mandate in that regard especially given that it has been starved of resources lately.”
Earlier this week, workers staged a walkout after a juvenile, who is being questioned in relation to a homicide, was returned to the centre for a second time. He had made threats to workers. The juvenile is now at the Bordelais Correctional Facility.
Workers have also complained bitterly about the poor infrastructure at the facility. The fence currently has huge holes that make it easy for the juveniles to escape. The windows are also in a bad condition.
However, some 16 CCTV cameras were installed at the centre, to monitor the behaviour juveniles.