Minister of Human Development Acknowledges Misstep in Holding Minors at Belize Central Prison

After a wave of public outcry, the two minors who were placed at the Belize Central Prison under the state of emergency were transferred to the New Beginnings Youth Development Center. Previously, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told the media that the department was hesitant to place the thirteen and fifteen-year-olds in the youth centre due to concern for the safety of the other minors and the possible influence that they might have on them. On Wednesday, Minister of Human Development Dolores Balderamos-Garcia acknowledged that holding the minors in prison may not have been the favoured course of action; however, she maintains that the government was deliberating how to balance the rights of the children with the safety of the public.

 

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development

“What was initially reported to myself and the Minister of Home Affairs, Honorable Kareem Musa, is that the young man came from an extremely troubled past and that sometimes the gang leaders and the criminals and the bad people in society, it is easier for them to recruit the very youthful young people as opposed to maybe seventeen, et cetera.  And what was reported to us was that there was very serious concern about the not only about the criminal capability of the young person, but also about his risk of being on the street, having been accused of being involved in crime and violence. And so it’s not an apology I’m making today, ladies and gentlemen, but it is a sort of a, an acknowledgement. that we don’t always get it completely, completely right. You know what I felt at the time that perhaps it was better to hear the reports of the police and to make a proper investigation before moving the young person to the New Beginnings Youth Development Center.”