Society has failed juvenile offenders – CRRECENT

The Executive Director of Child Research and Resource Centre (CRRECENT), Madam Susan Sabaa has said that the Ghanaian society has failed young people.

According to her, weak family structures are one of the major contributory factors to the increasing number of juvenile offenders in various borstal homes across the country adding that “In other jurisdiction they do not even have age of criminal responsibility, anybody who is below the age of eighteen and you go wayward, it is somebody who has failed you, because children basically need guidance and protection”.

Adding that, it is incumbent upon society, systems, structures and institution to shield young people because any child, when given the opportunity, can make it in life.

“When you see children who have or are going wayward then it’s because there has been a systemic failure which could be the school, family, society, and institutions who have failed these children” she added.

According to her, CRRECENT a non-governmental organization in partnership with other civil society groups and some government institutions have taken it upon themselves to look for an alternative support system for juvenile offenders.

Susan Sabaa admitted that research conducted by her outfit revealed that most of these juvenile offenders were from broken homes and grew with irresponsible parents.

“In our aid to help these children, we are soliciting for funds to establish a criminogenic unit as part of the counseling center for them”.

She said the unit will serve as a center for children to go for behavioral change therapy.

Madam Susan Sabaa was speaking at the opening ceremony of a five- days capacity building training for 20 selected officers themed “The juvenile offender Management and Criminogenic behavior change Treatment” in Accra on Monday, April 16, 2018.