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"It's bad and it's getting worse", the Prime Minister Jim Marurai on the issue of juvenile crime and he's vowed to take action. He was very supportive of calls to create new legislation to help quell the problem.
Marurai, who is also the Minister for Police said a new legislation should provide for underage offenders to be prosecuted for the crimes they commit. He said he will discuss the issue with the incoming Police Commissioner, Patrick Tasker when he arrives in Rarotonga this month for drafting legislation.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister said juvenile crimes should have been addressed five years ago. He said that it's been an ongoing problem and is affecting businesses, private residents and tourists.
Last week an anonymous poster with pictures of three underage offenders was circulated on e-mail in Rarotonga. Circulated by the group who call themselves the Crime Stoppers Inc they, threatened to teach the boys a lesson they will never forget if they catch these boys. But the Prime Minister does not agree to people taking the law into their own hands. He said he is committed to tackling the problem about juvenile crime and understands public concern.
Marurai did not agree that police was to blame for the rising juvenile crime. "Police cannot prosecute underage offenders and put them in jail overnight. We need to change the legislation", Marurai said. But Solicitor General, Mike Mitchell said the issue of the poster displaying photographs of the young boys risked civil action for defamation of character. However he explained that the Cook Islands have no legislation dealing with defamation or illegal information in place. He also said no crimes have been committed by the Crime Stoppers Inc group who circulated the poster. Mitchell said the Cook Islands however has obligations under International Law.
In 1977 New Zealand ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 16 in the convention states, " No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation. The child has the right to the protection of law against such interference or attacks."
Article 40 also states that a child is"to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law" and a child must also "have his or privacy fully respected."
Mitchell says the convention is not within the Cook Islands legislation but it has an obligation under international law. |
