Stop police abuse of youths

THE EDITOR, Sir:

WE ARE germinating crime monsters. The psychological impact of the inhumane treatment that has been meted out to our men/boys in our lockups will be paid for dearly if serious social and psychological intervention is not applied soon.

From the initial implementation of this crime-fighting strategy, Public Defender Arlene Harrison-Henry has been publicly voicing her findings of the inhumane conditions under which our people have been held during the state of emergency. Yet that has fallen on deaf ears.

The police are allowed to take these men/boys who are all from low socio-economic families, without reasonable/justified cause, and throw them into overcrowded cells with hardened criminals for days or weeks.

Their babymothers/wives/ mothers rarely are allowed to take clothing/food to them, and when this is allowed, their masculinity is humbled. Simply put, they are demoralised. Their rights have been trampled on because they cannot afford to employ the service of an attorney like the rich, who are infrequently detained without charge.

I appeal to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Minister of National Security Horace Chang to step in urgently with social and psychological intervention for these men and youths, and bring an immediate stop to this kind of injustice.

MARIA TOMLIN

Old Harbour PO

St Catherine