The externs in professional mode

Friday 25 May 2012

Juvenile Delinquency in Sierra Leone


By John Mans - Extern at Defence for Children
 The issue of juvenile delinquency is a major problem faced by young teens between the age of 14 and 17 years in Sierra Leone. The issue of juvenile delinquency has worsened after the brutal civil war. A large number of children were displaced, orphaned and traumatized and these factors increased the crime committed by young children. Due to the widespread of poverty found in Sierra Leone, the crime rates among younger children have increased. Most of them are involved in crimes such as stealing and burglary and the reasons are to only make ends meet. Many young people are also involved in drugs and this leads to their entering the criminal justice system. The issue of juvenile delinquency has also been triggered by the acts of the law enforcing body in the country, the police.
Sadly, when these young offenders are caught committing crimes, they are often locked up together with adults.  They are not detained on their own but share with adults which can often encourage them into a further life of crime as they mix with adults who are involved in more serious criminal activities.
Another issue affecting the increase in juvenile delinquency is the role of the police. Many police officers force young people who have been arrested to answer to crimes forcibly which they have been accused of and have not committed. Due to fear and interrogation, these young people will often admit to such crimes committed. They forcibly do as they are told by the police and they are taken to court, and then sentenced. The reason why these police officers do not appropriately handle cases involving juveniles is due to lack of training and lack of information on juvenile justice standards.
In order to deal with these issues I think there needs to be:
1.     More efforts to combat poverty, youth unemployment and drug use amongst young people
2.     More training and support for children at home
3.     More training for the police
4.     Separate detention facilities for juveniles

Thoughts on Legal Education Classes

By Wilbri John, Externa at LAWYERS


Conducting legal education has been a success for me generally.  I have conducted four legal educations; three at the Freetown Female Prison and one at the Annie Walsh Memorial Secondary School.  Giving legal education to pupils is faster and more rewarding because they are more eager to learn and they ask questions which I responded appropriately.  Most prisoners say they do not need legal education but rather the police and court clerks should be educated on legal issues.  Prisoners are treated with tolerance and respect and at the end of the day the legal education is successful.

Challenges faced in doing legal education in prisons are:
  • ·       Most of the prisoners are more interested in explaining their plight and asking for help rather than listening to what I have to say. 
  • ·       All inmates are not available at the same time because at times they are engaged in compulsory service.  When this happens only sick inmates are available because they are exempted. 
  • ·       Because we educate prisoners on how they should be treated in prisons and their rights in prison, it is extremely difficult to do legal education in the presence of prison officers.  Most prisoners feel terrified to explain if they are being mistreated. 

At the end of each legal education, prisoners are asked if they have questions or problems and most of they come up with complaints.  Prisoners are very friendly and as long as you have a little patience to try and understand each other, legal education runs smoothly.

Monday 14 May 2012

What the Law Says about the Power to Arrest?

By Alimamy Koroma, Extern at AdvocAid



Arrest is probably the most widely used method by the police to bring a suspect into the custody of the law.  Given the recent spate of fatal killings by police officers while allegedly effecting arrest, it is of great importance that people understand what the law says about arrest so as to know when the police are simply upholding the law or going beyond their limits.

In truth, the recent gruesome killings of two youths at Wellington by police officers during arrest while being exceptional is not entirely a new phenomenon in terms of unnecessary force employed by police to institute arrest.  I regret to add that a significant number of our clients report incidents of police brutality while being arrested with some even losing properties.  As I write, we are filing a complaint on behalf of twenty two of our clients, including eight women who were either beaten or had their properties looted allegedly by police officers while being arrested for loitering.  One of the female clients sustained serious injury on her right eye.  And quite recently, reports came in again about a motorbike rider who was shot dead by police at Lumley for failing to stop after he had been asked to.

Being an aspiring democratic country with full commitment to human rights protection, it comes as a big surprise that week in week out certain police officers tarnish the reputation of their institution by using excessive force to arrest people at times suspected of very minor crimes.  Legislations on protection from arbitrary arrest and arrest procedures are found in both the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No.6 of 1991 and the Criminal Procedure Act of 1965.  Section 17 subsection 1 of the 1991 Constitution confers protection from arbitrary arrest or detention to every person in Sierra Leone irrespective of race, tribe, and place of origin, political opinion, colour, creed or sex.  Sections 4 to 15 of the Criminal Procedures Act (1965) constitute the laws governing arrest procedure.  Section 4 (1) allows a police officer to confine or touch the body of a person to be arrested but not when the person consents by word or action.  Section 4 (2) is of utmost significance as it appears to be widely misunderstood by police officers.  It reads “If such person forcibly resists the endeavour to arrest him, or attempts to evade the arrest, such constable or other person may use sufficient force to effect the arrest but no more.”  I think the key phrases here are ‘forcibly resists’ and ‘sufficient force’.  The question what constitutes sufficient force is debatable but what is certain is that causing death must not be the first option of the police when effecting arrest.

Similarly, section 8 of the said Criminal Procedure Act 1965 provides that “The person arrested shall not be subjected to more restraint than is necessary to prevent his escape”.  It cannot be clearer than this.  

Any police officer who therefore shoots people unnecessarily on the pretext of arrest does so entirely on his own volition and neither the police code of conduct not the Constitution of Sierra Leone offers him a defense.  And whereas our country is based on the rule of law it would not be long before these culprits face justice.

Thursday 3 May 2012

Is This Justice

The incredible delay in the legal system does not only apply to court proceedings, but extends even to the mechanisms that should facilitate trial. It is not uncommon for children in the remand home not to appear in court for several days because those that are responsible for the transport to and fro the remand home can not do so because there is no fuel for the vehicle. It is unbelievable to know that children are deprived of their right to trial or appear in court on the adjourned date because of a lack of fuel, the cost of which is approximately $5 per gallon and $1 per liter.  It is not only the the accused that are deprived of having justice, even the victims who are present to see those suspected and charged of having committed a crime proven guilty or otherwise experience the delays in justice first hand. In the case of victims, especially those those who have been sexually abused or assaulted, they often get tired of regularly attending court without any proceeding being held.  As a result of their frustration many of them resort to settling it domestically by being offered money, while others abandon the process and stop coming altogether. Even the accused, who is often kept in detention for a very long time without significant time in front of a judge tends to become frustrated by the process.  This chaos has a flow on effect; as the victims stop attending court, so do the witnesses. This results in the accused attending court multiple times without representation of the victims, often giving the judge no option but to acquit the accused of the alleged crimes altogether. This begs the question - is this justice? Written by Anrite