Justice committee reviewing law on juveniles

The Morobe juvenile justice committee met in Lae yesterday to review implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act 2014.
The meeting was attended by members of the national juvenile justice committee and Australian-PNG Policing Partnership juvenile justice sector.
Acting provincial chairman and senior provincial magistrate Pius Tapil chaired the meeting.
Australian Federal Police representative Sergeant Justin O’Hehir said the review was to see if there were problems relating to implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act 2014.
He said the committee comprised key government and community members in the province who were involved in juvenile justice.
Tapil stressed the importance of separating juveniles from adult offenders when transported to and from the court house, in police cells and the Buimo jail.
“When juvenile offenders are allowed to mix with the adult offenders, they could easily adapt to the adult situation and become hardcore criminals after completing their terms,” Tapil said
He said there was a need for one more magistrate at Lae court house to deal with juvenile cases, and that all such cases should be heard in a separate court room.
The committee, among other matters, discussed the importance of collecting data. They agreed to create a template and make it accessible to stakeholders to compile juvenile justice data.