A four-day Risk Assessment Workshop for personnel in the Departments of Social Development, Education, Police, Probation and other stakeholder agencies, commenced in Anguilla on Tuesday this week at La Vue Conference Centre.
Chief Probation Officer, Ms. Joycelyn Johnson, in her welcome remarks, stressed the importance of the workshop, noting the requirements of the justice system provisions relating to the treatment of juveniles. She was grateful to UNICEF for sponsoring the event.
Permanent Secretary, Social Development, Dr. Bonnie Richardson-Lake, said the workshop was part of the OECS Reform Justice Project which has four main pillars. These are capacity-building in the administration of the system and improving civil society linkages in the delivery of children and youth services; and legal reform.
The workshop facilitator, Ms. Beverley-Ann Kayren Poyotte, is the Family Court Director in St. Lucia. She said the workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of the people of Anguilla through the Ministry of Health and Social Development.
“Building capacity is actually one of the arms of the Juvenile Justice Reform Project whereby persons, who are involved with juveniles, should have the requisite skills to be able to deal with them,” she stated. “One of the reasons we think this is very important is that in working with our juveniles, especially with this training and assessment, is that it helps not only our juveniles, but the families of the juveniles and, in the long run, our communities.”
The Risk Assessment Workshop followed closely on a Justice System Workshop in Anguilla which examined the rights of juveniles in trouble with the law.
Among those at Tuesday’s opening ceremony was Deputy Governor, Mr. Stanley Reid, OBE.
