JCO Juvenile Conference successful on St. Eustatius

ORANJESTAD — Stakeholders on St. Eustatius held the last Juvenile Cases Conference (Jeugd Casus Overleg – JCO), for the 2017-2018 school year on Thursday, June 14^th, 2018. The JCO is a monthly integral discussion between representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Court of Guardianship, Police Department, Truancy Department and the Gwendolyn van Putten School.

In the JCO, minors guilty of criminal offenses are discussed. Skipping school is also considered an offense. The stakeholders jointly decide which forms of interventions are ideal per child.

The JCO saw several successful interventions this school year. There were no delinquent or truancy cases to be discussed during the last discussion. The JCO attributed this success to the action taken by the Public Prosecutor in April this year, when he imposed a community service penalty for truants.

Representatives of the Gwendolyn van Putten School indicated that this measure had a preventive effect on other students. The JCO will continue to meet in the new school year, which will start on August 20th, 2018.