‘Young offenders should not be jailed with older inmates’

YOUNG offenders should not be held under the same roof as older inmates to prevent them from turning into “crime machines”, a social services expert has said.

Barış Başel said detaining children and young adults at the Central Prison on the outskirts of Lefkoşa — the TRNC’s only jail — along with hardened criminals was against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. He said juvenile delinquents should instead be sent to “rehabilitation and re-integration” centres to stop them from becoming habitual criminals.

“Unless the offence committed is severe, children should be kept under the protection of the government, working with specifically chosen families,” Mr Başel argued.

“Such children . . . should be socially, psychologically and educationally taught at re-integration centres so they can understand that . . . stealing isn’t [right].”

Mr Başel said children from poor families should be “financially supported by the government” in order to “make them feel valued as part of society”, which he said would also prevent family breakdowns.

He claimed children who “steal from a school canteen” were taken to the prison and then became “crime machines”.

“These children are not bogeymen and should not be perceived as such,” he added.

Mr Başel claimed a Cabinet decree would be enough to “turn a building into a rehabilitation and reintegration centre” but that “nothing was being done” to address the problem.

His comments came as figures from the Interior Ministry revealed that there are currently 70 people aged under 21 — just six of them female — in prison custody.

A breakdown of the numbers showed that 25 were being held on drug-related offences, 17 for theft and six in connection with sexual assaults.

The remaining 22 were convicted or accused of a variety of other offences such as traffic violations, rioting and carrying a weapon.

Of the 70, 26 are Turkish citizens, 13 TRNC citizens, 15 are dual Turkish-TRNC nationals, and the rest come from “third countries”.

Thirty-seven have been convicted, while the other 33 are being held on remand. Young offenders are kept in a separate “dormitory” within the Central Prison.

A new prison complex is due for completion next year near the village of Minareliköy in a bid to ease overcrowding and improve conditions.