A new juvenile detention facility was officially opened on Thursday. A ceremony was held, to mark the occasion, on the grounds of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

On hand was Acting Commissioner of Corrections Doan Cleare who said, “finally I can say that we are now on the road truly to corrections. Can you imagine you having juveniles strapped to a hardened criminal taking them to court. All that hardened fella will tell them is ‘listen boy look here, you do the wrong they you get catch do this the next time.’ And they just train them. So that’s why I said I don’t want no linkage whatsoever.”

The Minister of National Security, the Hon. Wayne Munroe was also in attendance. During his remarks he spoke of the importance of good parenting. “While indeed it takes a village to raise a child, it is clear that the parents are the most influential factors in that village. We in The Bahamas must understand and grasp this concept of promoting and fostering good parenting.”

Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training, the Hon. Glenys Hanna Martin spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the event saying that the facility is something that she has been praying for. “Even when I practiced law and did criminal law, to think and dream and contemplate that juveniles were coming into this prison and interfacing with adult offenders was my worst nightmare. This has relieved such a pressure in my psyche. And I feel that, for me, this is fundamental,” Hanna Martin said.

Wife of the Prime Minister Mrs. Ann Marie Davis cut the ribbon on the new facility declaring it officially open.

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