Portland teen recaptured after jumping through court window to avoid custody

There is a renewed call for the shortage of police personnel to man the Children's Court in Buff Bay, Portland to be addressed after a teen boy escaped court by jumping through an upstairs window after an order was made for him to be remanded.

The incident happened on Monday.

A policewoman who was the only cop in court made attempts to prevent him from escaping but was unsuccessful.

It has been reported that for quite some time now there has been a shortage of police personnel in the courts in Portland.

On many occasions, calls have to be made to the relevant authority for police personnel to be sent so that court can commence.

There is no child counsellor assigned to the Children's Court in St Mary, which has resulted in the child counsellor for Portland being forced to monitor both courts.

On Monday, the 16-year-old accused, who is charged with housebreaking and larceny, appeared in court.

The allegations are that the accused was caught on camera breaking into a house.

In another incident, he fought with the complainant inside her house and it is alleged that about $500,000 was stolen from the dwelling.

Children's Court Judge Sahai Whittingham Maxwell ordered that the accused be remanded until January 8 next year for psychological assessment.

The judge also ordered that community and school reports be submitted in court.

The accused teen boy, on hearing he was being remanded, jumped through a two-storey window down onto the compound and ran away.

The boy's parents and his attorney-at-law were in court when he dashed for his freedom. 

“He is lucky he was not hurt after jumping from such a height,” a spectator remarked.

The boy was recaptured and taken back into custody the following day.

A senior policeman, in commenting on the issue, said today that “the  police are overburdened with work because the high crime rate has resulted at times in a shortage of police to work in other important areas.”

He noted that many children are involved in serious crimes and there is an urgent need for steps to be taken to ensure that child counsellors are provided in every parish.

He says he is hoping that through counselling children will be motivated to be upstanding citizens and stay away from criminal activities.

“There must be a serious focus on children and particularly those before the courts who need psychological support. Where there is no such support, the children deteriorate because parents are not equipped to deal with psychological problems plaguing their children,” he emphasised.

- Barbara Gayle

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.