Pre-trial diversion

In an effort to reduce the number of

young people in prisons, Fiji’s police,

prosecutors and law reformers are exploring the possibility of setting up a pre-trial diversion system similar to one in New Zealand. Fiji’s director of public prosecutions (DPP), Nazhat Shameem, said the system meant keeping “people out of the court system who really should n’t be there”.

“We’re talking about giving young offenders a second chance but, at the same time, it should never be seen as a soft option because it gives the police powers to deal with it in a way similar to the court system. The offender is con fronted by the victim, makes reparation, and is made to work for the victim, express remorse and confront members of his community - shaming him into feel ing remorse,” she said. But Shameem said while in principle the idea was a good one, if it could not be carried out properly, it was better not to implement it at all.

Pre-trial diversion involved providing alternatives to prosecuting young people, such as community services and coun selling, Florence Fenton of the Fiji Law Reform Commission said. An informal working committee had been set up with the police, the DPP’s office and represen tatives of the Law Reform Commission to discuss the issue, she said. According to the DPP, prosecution guidelines for both the police and the public prosecutors already provide an informal system for

pre-trial diversion.

In the DPP’s annual report for 1993- 94, Shameem set out prosecution guide lines which included a section on juve niles. “Special considerations apply to the prosecution of persons under the age of 17 years. Prosecution action against chil dren should be used sparingly and, in making a decision whether to prosecute, particular consideration should be given to available alternatives to prosecution, such as a caution or reprimand,” she said.

But Shameem was concerned that apart from this, there was no other alter native to not prosecuting. “If we do decide not to prosecute, what is going to happen to the offender? Is he going to receive counselling? Is he going to get some kind of caution or reprimand so there is a record of the number of chances the person has been given by prosecu tors?” she asked. Shameem said because there were no formal records of cautions

given, the police faced similar problems.

Fiji’s assistant commissioner of police (crime), Aisea Taoka, agrees. He said the

Police Juvenile Bureau, which was dis banded in the mid-80s, had provided a system for handling young offenders without giving them criminal records.

Taoka said the bureau was shut down when it was questioned whether the police had the constitutional power to administrate such a body.

He said the suggestion for a formal system of pre-trial diversion stemmed from concern for the number of young people with criminal records and the need to give them a second chance at becoming

law-abiding citizens.

But before such a system could be introduced, the justice system had to be sure that pre-trial diversion was an accountable alternative - open to some

degree of scrutiny and supervision,

Shameem said. She said it was important that the structure did not simply replace another bureaucracy like the courts and that strict policies and guidelines be fol lowed “Basically, what we want is unifor mity of approach to the problem of juve nile offenders so that everyone with the power to prosecute or divert young peo ple knows exactly what the criteria are,” she said.

The informal working committee had identified the need for adequate resources to run alternative approaches to prosecu tion, trained counsellors, and establish ment of guidelines for crimes which could be diverted, Fenton said.

“There’s nothing worse than a new system which sounds good on paper but we know we don’t have the resources to run well,” Shameem agrees. “If you don’t have people who are properly trained in counselling, a lot of problems could arise.

More damage can be done by counsellors who really have no idea what they are doing. And then what will the guidelines be? Are we going to have rapes diverted?

Are we going to have corruption divert ed? Will there be more pressure on the victim to reconcile?” Fenton said it was clear that later this year, the Social Welfare Department would have to become involved in the discussions. She said counselling, community services and family conferencing should be considered part of the Social Welfare Department.

But Shameem argued that for the scheme to go ahead, the Social Welfare Department would need a greater portion of the national budget because it was already overcommitted. It is clear that with continuing government discussion and commitment to the plight of young offenders, pre-trial diversion could soon be a reality for Fiji. ■

accept that a problem with young people and substance abuse existed, Mielke stressed “It’s like a lot of things going on in the Pacific - environmental problems and

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency

Syndrome). It almost has to be in your

backyard before people start to change,”

he said. The warning bells were sounding already, Mielke warned, and adopting a see-no-evil stance would not help the region, its people or its future.

“Nothing’s going to suddenly come in from the outside and give the magical cure - it’s going to have to happen from with in,” he said.

Awareness, talking about issues such as substance abuse, accepting that prob lems existed and trying to reduce them or, at worst, keep them from getting out of control, needed to be addressed from within Pacific countries and communities, Mielke said. The UN report said that in order for such action to be effective, it was necessary to understand the social and cultural systems within which sub stance abuse takes place.

“It has been argued that many of the problems facing youth in the Pacific stem from the breakdown of traditional family and community systems, from urbanisa tion and the advent of nuclear families, the weakening of the power of traditional leaders, the loss of influence of the

church, poor socialisation techniques or the too easy flow of alcohol. All stem from changes induced by colonialism and the capitalist economy,” the report said.

With urbanisation and more money oriented societies, the traditional security of the extended family with full-time homemakers (usually the women) is rapidly being depleted. Two-income fami lies are common, as are one-parent fami lies with increasing divorce rates in the region.

“Growing up in a world so profoundly different from that of their parents, youth are expressing frustration and a sense of alienation as they struggle to develop a sense of self-worth and direction in their lives,” the report said.

Traditional communal obligations to family and community conflict with a new set of expectations which value individual success and Western-style education as a means of finding a job and making a liv ing in urban centres, it continued.

The report highlighted the importance of proper role models for the youth.

“If parents and other role models are exhibiting unhealthy behaviour, it’s often the reason to just do the same - whether it’s smoking, alcohol, risky sex, violence, drug abuse,” the report said.

Mielke said individual counselling in schools played an important role in reduc ing the pressures of a breakdown in com

munication at home or with (Other adults.

“There’s definitely a need to help peo ple who want to quit smoking, alcohol or drugs with counselling and other pro grammes,” he said.

“And such programmes can no longer be considered a luxury by Pacific govern ments. The concern is that we will see in the population more addiction to alcohol as there is now with smoking, and also with marijuana. It is absolutely essential that there are services to cater for that,” he said. But he added that while clinical ser vices and counselling were necessary, there also had to be awareness in the soci ety against starting on the habit - as pre vention is, after all, the best cure.

“At this point, the Pacific has to focus on awareness of the issues and shaking up the place at the community level to get the attention of the policy makers,” Mielke said.

He said even if policy makers refused to acknowledge that a problem existed, pressure from the community and individ uals was an important tool for change.

A concerted effort by government, vol unteers, parents, the donor community and young people themselves would go a long way towards ensuring that the Pacific’s future is, if not free from sub stance abuse, at the very least a safe envi ronment in which to make informed choices. ■