Filenews 13 May 2024 - by Fanis Makrides
As of Friday, the eight juvenile guardians took up their duties, who under contract with the state, will handle incidents involving children who commit offences under the common criminal code.
These specialists will cover the whole of Cyprus, will work closely with the Police and will be ready to deal with any incident that occurs and falls under the provisions of the legislation passed in April 2021 for the establishment of child-friendly criminal justice (The Children in Conflict with the Law of 2021).
The Codeca
The contract has been concluded between the Ministry of Justice and Public Order (contracting authority) and Codeca Ltd. It is the corporate entity of the non-profit organization "Center for Social Cohesion, Development and Care" founded in Cyprus by two academics in 2016 (Dr. Stefanos Spaneas and Agamemnon Zachariades). Codeca already maintains a number of contracts with the Republic of Cyprus, the most well-known being those concerning the management agreements of the First Reception Centre (KEPY) "Pournara", the Reception and Accommodation Centre for Applicants for International Protection (KYFADP) Kofinou and the Accommodation Centre "Limnes" in Menogeia.
Prospect of renewal
A competition for juvenile guardians was launched at the beginning of this year, but there was one bidder who – in fact – did not meet the criteria. Thus, the competition was cancelled and immediately followed by a re-announcement on February 13. Two entities submitted interest, with Codeca Ltd winning the contract. The contract provides that these specialized services will be offered for €60,000 in the first year, while there is a prospect of renewing the cooperation for another year with the same amount (option to renew the contract). In other words, if the first year goes by without any contingencies for both sides, then the contract will be renewed for the following year with a total cost of €120,000 for the two years.
Up to 800 incidents
The contractor is obliged under the terms of the agreement to handle up to 800 cases, while it is obliged to handle in parallel or within a reasonable time any cases that may arise simultaneously.
The services to be provided by the bailiffs and their obligations are determined by the relevant legislation ("Law providing for the establishment of a criminal justice system friendly to children in conflict with the law", Law 55(I)/2021). The provision of probation services is segregated for children acting without criminal liability, and children acting with criminal responsibility, as follows:
>> Child acting without criminal liability means that he has not reached the age of fourteen (14) years.
>> A child acting under criminal responsibility means that he/she has reached the age of fourteen (14) and includes a person who committed criminal acts before reaching the age of eighteenth (18).
>> A person acting under criminal responsibility, who has not reached the age of twenty-first (21) years, for crimes committed before reaching the age of eighteen.
Coordinator
The contract includes the provisions of the current legislation, on the basis of which the guardian plays a catalytic role immediately after the detection by the Police of the minor, for whom there is reasonable suspicion that he has committed a criminal offence. As soon as a guardian is informed by the police force about an incident, he intervenes immediately to ensure the rights of the minor by handling each case in cooperation with public services.
The contractor has appointed a contract coordinator with the following tasks:
>> Supervision of curators.
>> Coordination and supervision of curators' work.
>> Coordination for contact and communication of guardians with Police Stations and public authorities entrusted with responsibilities and/or obligations under the "Law" and/or with the holders of parental responsibility of the child.
>> It shall be the point of contact between the contracting authority and the contractor.
>> He is responsible for the quality control and certification of the deliverables before their submission to the coordinator of the contracting authority.
Note from the leadership of the Police - Members of the Corps had also taken on this role since summer 2021
Since mid-week, and specifically last Wednesday, the leadership of the Police had informed with an internal note the police directors of the districts, as well as heads of Departments and Services about the assumption of curatorial duties by private individuals.
Not only because these tasks were assigned to members of the College temporarily, but also because there must now be close cooperation with the curators.
As we are informed, the relevant document is signed by the competent Assistant Chief of Police and through it the latter informs the competent officers about what needs to be done on their part.
The heads of services and departments of the police force will have at their disposal a list of officers who will perform duties per district and on a 24-hour basis, so that they will be notified immediately when necessary.
In addition, as it follows from the relevant instructions, the Juvenile Delinquency Section of the Subdirectorate for the Management of Cases of Vulnerable Persons (YDYEP), which is part of the Crime Fighting Department of the Police Headquarters, will operate on a pilot basis as a liaison between the Ministry of Justice and Public Order – Police and the coordinator of curators, in order to monitor the smooth and effective operation of the Ministry's contract with the contractor company and the designated its obligations.
The issue with juvenile guardians had come to the fore for good in August 2021. This summer, a 16-year-old in Larnaca was spotted driving a vehicle on a central avenue illegally. He did not have any documents certifying his identity, while he had given false information to the members of the Corps and had been taken to a police station in the city. At that time, the problem had been felt with the legislation that had been passed a few months earlier, namely in April 2021.
The reason was that the legislation had been rushed to Parliament (a warning was issued to Cyprus due to non-compliance with a relevant directive) without being adapted to the circumstances of Cyprus and taking into account the infrastructure of the Police. In the summer of 2021, they were christened juvenile police officers on the basis of a decision (taken by the former Minister of Justice, Emily Yiolitis), attending a five- and three-day course, in order to gain some training and take on this role. This emergency solution had been criticized unfavourably by members of police unions. It is indicative of what Nikos Loizides, head of the police branch of the "Equality" guild, had stated in June 2021 to "F": "Police officers are not trained for such duties. The Republic must hire specialists to deal with such issues. The consequences of entrusting such tasks to police officers are likely to be particularly adverse. The police are already entrusted with many other tasks, many of which are not within its remit." There is also an issue of infrastructure since the legislation provides for special areas for the detention of minors, but also for a videotaped statement to be taken by a minor, in the presence of guardians and a lawyer.
POINT OF VIEW
With patents
We passed a law in April 2021 not because we were interested in establishing child-friendly criminal justice to help them get back on their feet, but because they put pressure on us from Europe.
As a result, we "baptized" juvenile police officers and even ran with patents to implement the relevant legislation. It is indicative that we have completed three years and we have not yet found a special place of detention for juvenile offenders. That is why the Ministry of Justice was forced to submit an amendment bill to allow the detention of minors in Central Prisons until 2026. In a word: Despicable!
