Dominica: Welfare officials have acknowledged that they are worried about an increase in juvenile offenders here, according to a Dominica News Online report.
According to Welfare officer, Leroy Morvan, too many of the island’s young men and women are appearing before the magistrate’s court, particularly for the crime of theft.
“For 2011 we had a number of juveniles who appeared before the magistrate’s court and that number is 312, for 2011 alone,” he disclosed.
The DNO reported that Morvan says the number of cases that were disposed of was 140 and the number of juveniles who were placed on probation is 34. He added that violence related offenses totaled 11, with the lead offence, theft, at 18.
The Welfare officer further disclosed that so far for 2012, 12 Juveniles have already been placed on probation, an issue he says needs urgent attention. He said the five violence related offenses, four cannabis cases and five theft incidents were “too much”. He said if that trend continues that figure could go well beyond the 312 recorded in 2011, the DNO reported.
You must be logged in to post a comment.