20 Dec 2021

 The Ministry of Defence Justice and Security has embarked on a research project to assess the child friendliness of the entire justice continuum, says Minister Kagiso Mmusi.

Officially opening the second Botswana Police Service (BPS) child-friendly service centre in Francistown Friday, said once completed, the project would guide formulation of policy guidelines and the necessary compliance reforms.

“To demonstrate our commitment to ending crimes against children, we will continue to subject our criminal justice processes to periodic reviews in order to make them more child friendly,” he said.

Mr Mmusi said to that end, the ministry would sponsor reforms in relevant statutes such as the Penal Code, Children’s Act, Sex Offender’s Registry Act as well as legislations dealing with cybercrime and anti-human trafficking.

Through the child-friendly centre, BPS aims to ensure a conducive environment for dealing with GBV issues which includes capacitating police officers to competently handle victims.

Acknowledging the significant role played by police in the criminal justice system, Minister Mmusi said the centre would contribute in professional handling of abuse cases and act as a safe environment to uphold children’s rights.

For his part, BPS commissioner Mr Keabetswe Makgophe said his organisation had introduced child-friendly services to effectively tackle children’s issues under a conducive environment.

Quoting statistics, he said  the most prevalent violations of children’s rights  were sexual offences such as rape and defilement, negligence and ill-treatment.

 “We will continue to involve different stakeholders such as health, social services and the judiciary in tackling these issues and adopting a multi-factor approach to them,” he added.

Commissioner Makgophe applauded BPS for prioritising and effectively tackling emerging criminal trends especially those affecting children.

The centre is fully furnished to make it comfortable for children with a vehicle dedicated for its use.

The first BPS child-friendly service centre was opened last year by First Lady Neo Masisi at Gaborone Broadhurst Police Station in Gaborone.ENDS