404.
Children under the age of ten years may not be charged at all and should not have any
contact with the criminal justice system. There have been a number of challenges
in the implementation of this principle, notably low knowledge of the law governing
the minimum age or poor understanding of the implications of the age limit, as
well as difficulties with determining the age of children. Given the low rate of birth
registration, very few children that are in conflict with the law have birth certificates
attesting to their age. The GoSL has addressed this issue through the development
of Age Assessment Guidelines (2010) which provide guidance and clear procedures
for determining a child’s age using available evidence. A number of magistrate’s,
police prosecutors, probation officers and social workers have received training on
the guidelines.
405.
The following protection is provided for those older than 14 years:
Children
accused of committing a crime are entitled to bail and to be released
into the custody of their parents (which is a practice often employed by the police
where they can trace parents). Non-custodial alternatives for the supervision
of children pending their trial are limited, especially for the most vulnerable
children whose parents cannot be found or refuse to act as surety.
Children awaiting trial are meant to be placed in remand homes and approved
schools. There are currently two remand homes operated by the MSGWCA, one in
Freetown and one in Bo. With the support of development partners, both remand
homes have been refurbished and vehicles purchased to transport the young
people to court. However, the MSWGCA struggles to meet staffing requirements
and operational costs to ensure their effective functioning (Child Frontiers, 2011).
Thus whilst there have been some improvements in the conditions at the remand
homes, the facilities are rudimentary and access to education, psychosocial
support and recreation is very limited. The limitation in the number of available
remand homes means that many children are kept in prison cells (often with
adults) for the duration of their trials.
Diversions of children away from the formal justice system is, in principle,
available to the Child Panels. However the Panels have not yet been established.
As such, whilst the GoSL is committed to diversion, it does not have any structured
mechanisms for diverting children from the formal justice system. As a result,
cases come before the Magistrate (often with no social enquiry report from a
social worker either) and the magistrate discharges the juvenile offender to the
probation officer, which effectively means the juvenile offender is back in the
community and likely to reoffend.
A special juvenile court has been established in Freetown which is in a building
separated from the main court houses. Courts hearing matters involving children
should, as far as possible, be housed separately or sit at different times to other courts.
Whilst children have a right to legal representation, this is not guaranteed due to the
cost of securing a lawyer. The Legal Aid Act has been enacted to address this issue.
Whilst there are a number of non-custodial sentencing options available for
children and these are used by the courts, there are no guidelines or direction
to courts for decisions in this regard, or articulating the principle that a prison
sentence should be a measure of last resort.
Children who are imprisoned are entitled to, as far as possible, be housed separately
from adult prisoners, and to receive physical, educational, medical and psychosocial
support as well as reintegration and reunification services.
104
Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone Initial Report on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2002-2014