News Releases
Government Home Search Sitemap Contact Us  


NLIS 5
June 15, 2000
(Justice)


Construction of new youth remand centre on hold

Justice Minister and Attorney General Kelvin Parsons announced today that due to a dramatic decline in the resident population at both the Pleasantville Youth Centre and the Whitbourne facility during the past eight months, the Department of Justice has decided to put the construction of a new youth remand centre at the White Hills in St. John�s on hold to assess the situation.

Government has not ruled out constructing a new youth remand centre as originally proposed. "We also haven�t ruled out the option of a scaled down facility or a holding facility, combined with the use of now empty space in Whitbourne" said Minister Parsons. "We intend to proceed with a project that best meets the needs of a changing population.

"Government has a responsibility to spend taxpayers money wisely, and therefore we believe it is prudent and fiscally responsible to assess factors that may be influencing the decline in resident population, to determine whether this is the beginning of a longer term trend. Government�s review will look at all indicators related to youth crime."

When planning for the new youth remand centre began, the resident population was significantly higher and there was no reason to expect that those numbers would decline as significantly as they have. For example, the four-week average population at both Pleasantville and Whitbourne was as low as 35 residents in December 1999, compared to 60 residents in December of 1998. The total capacity at Whitbourne is 60 and for Pleasantville, it is 10.

"If this signals a sustained decline in youth crime, this is good news" said the minister. "Any savings resulting from a change in plans will be redirected to other uses."

Media contact: Kathy Dicks-Peyton, Communications, (709) 729-6564.

2000 06 15                             4:05 p.m.


SearchHomeBack to GovernmentContact Us


All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server.
Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement