New rules to correct juveniles

JUVENILE offenders will now be held accountable for their actions and the punishment meted out will be more appropriate to the seriousness of their crime under a new National Juvenile Justice Policy launched yesterday.
Minister for the department of justice and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat said while some youths commited very serious offences and must be dealt with accordingly, there must also be humane and given fair treatment.
He said although the policy emphasised the need for special protections for the rights of juveniles, it did not mean that the Government was going soft on young offenders.
“The new policy is designed to hold juvenile offenders more accountable for their actions and to ensure that the punishment they receive is appropriate to the seriousness of their crimes,” he said at the launching at Holiday Inn in Port Moresby.
He added that without this policy, it would be impossible to bring essential changes to the juvenile justice system.
The department’s acting secretary, Hitelai Polume-Kiele, said PNG had an unfortunate history of mistreating young offenders.
She said most of the crimes committed by youths were of a minor nature and the people should not over-react to this.
Work on the policy started five years ago when the department set up a National Juvenile Justice working group to oversee the juvenile justice reforms.
The group’s primary objective was to ensure that there was cooperation within the agencies in the law and justice sector, non-governmental organisations and church organisations in the development of a comprehensive juvenile justice system.
Chairman Benny Metio said they identified major challenges in the area of juvenile justice reforms and concluded that a policy was required.
He said the criminal justice system could have a detrimental effect on young people.
“We must try wherever possible to divert young and minor offenders away from courts and police cells and use a system based on the principles of restorative justice to provide both offenders and victims a supportive and structured setting to resolve their differences,” he said.
He said the new policy highlighted the rights of children in accordance with international conventions and guidelines.