Twenty-six participants from Ok Tedi Mining Ltd’s (OTML) Asset Protection Department, Employee Assistance Program, and local security companies together with officers from the Tabubil Police recently underwent a workshop on juvenile justice and human rights.
The two-week training that ended on May 05th was organised by OTML in partnership with the Bomana Police College and United Nations Human Rights Office.
The workshop was aimed at equipping security officers, counsellors, and police officers to deal with offenders, mainly juveniles.
Senior Sergeant Henry Aimano and Senior Sergeant Theresa Jacobs from the Bomana Police Training College and Human Rights Analyst Josephine Mann conducted the training.
The training covered various topics on policing, gender, right to freedom from violence, ethical and legal conduct of police, juvenile justice, and United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.
Mr Aimano commended OTML for being the first organisation to have its security personnel undergo juvenile justice training since the Juvenile Justice Act was passed in 2014.
“OTML is the first organisation in the country to invite us to conduct the training on Juvenile Justice and I am encouraging other organisations to partner with us to run this training,” said Mr Aimano.
OTML Security Training Officer Ben Levi who organised the workshop said the training will now assist law enforcement officers and counsellors to properly deal with juveniles and other offenders.
“We have been seeing a lot of juvenile-related cases, and most are repetitive offenders. Because they are juveniles, officers tend to release them without properly processing them and most times they are arrested again for the same offence or a different one,” Mr Levi said.
“Organising both the human rights and juvenile justice training was important for our officers to learn and understand the process of effectively dealing with offenders, especially juveniles,” he added.
OTML General Manager People and Capability Mark Stone, while congratulating the participants said such training is vital for a safe and secure environment.
“Training in human rights and juvenile justice is an important part of letting the world know that we do things well here in Tabubil and that it is a safe and ethical town for our employees, business partners and families to live and work,” he said.