5 September 2008

Good afternoon.

Several days ago, the Premier announced a series of wide ranging and bold initiatives aimed at tackling the current surge of violence in our community.

And each Minister has been tasked with exploring and enacting tangible solutions to aid in this cause.

Indeed there is growing, justified concern in the community about juvenile crime and the state of Bermuda’s families.

And in echoing the Premier’s recent statement, we in the Ministry of Justice believe that the strongest line of defense in this fight lies in the hands of parents.

However, in those extreme cases where a child is exhibiting anti-social behavior detrimental to this community, and the parent fails to take the necessary steps to rein that child in – then we as a Government will be forced to act.

To that end, I can confirm that Government is actively considering the enactment of parental responsibility legislation.

To provide some context, the term “parental responsibility” refers to the potential or actual liability that may be incurred by parents for the behaviour of their children.

Many other jurisdictions such as the United States and Canada currently have legislation that makes parents responsible for the delinquent acts of their children by imposing sanctions on the parents.

More recent measures require parents to attend juvenile court hearings and involve them in the court proceedings.

Other methods of holding parents accountable include imposing sanctions such as restitution payments; community service and payment of institutional service or procedure costs associated with their child’s delinquent acts.

The most severe sanctions involve fining or incarcerating parents.

The Ministry of Justice is actively pursuing this initiative on behalf of the Government and the people of Bermuda.

In addition, at my request as the Minister of Justice, the chairman of the Law Reform Committee is in the process of appointing a panel of criminal lawyers and jurists to review Bermuda’s Laws to ensure that they adequately address criminal behaviour in Bermuda.

The law is a mirror of society and must evolve to reflect the needs of changing times and conditions. As such, the deterioration of the social conditions in Bermuda requires that the laws that govern the criminal justice system be reviewed.

By the systematic and aggressive implementation of these initiatives, the Ministry of Justice remains committed to ensuring that Bermuda has a legislative frame-work to support the criminal justice system and the people of Bermuda in the war against violent and other criminal activity.

Finally, allow me to close by saying this…

As a mother of two, I am truly saddened at the recent acts of violence which seem to have a stranglehold on our society.

My children are at a young tender age.

However they are old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong.

I, like the majority of other parents see it as my duty to raise responsible children who respect others and who will eventually grow into adults who will abide by the laws of this land.

But the discipline must start when they are young. So my plea to other parents in our community, take hold of your children.

Pray over them, talk to them, listen closely to them and get a clear understanding at what’s going on in their lives. Give them that much needed attention that many of them are yearning for.

Because parents… those of you who are not prepared to parent and get your child’s destructive behavior under control then I can assure you… the justice system will have to.

Thank you.