Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, juveniles in the national holding centre are still accessing the justice system remotely.
There are currently 15 juveniles (all boys) between the ages of 14 and 18 at the holding centre and according to William Orrin Boston, Director of the Juvenile Justice System Department in the Ministry of Public Security, they are all charged with murder. Two of the juveniles entered the facility after the pandemic reached the shores of Guyana.
The department was created out of the 2018 Juvenile Justice Act, which has made provision for alternative and diversion measures for juveniles in conflict with the law, both pre- and post-trial, and emphasises education, rehabilitation, and reintegration measures. It also provides alternative sanctions which can be imposed on culpable youths in conflict with the law.