An investigation conducted found that children are often held in the same cells as adults accused of serious crimes, and are often denied adequate food, medical care, education and access to basic sanitary facilities. Many children subjected to such conditions are not suspected of any crime, but are taken into custody because they have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Even adult criminals should not be in jails like these. To keep children in such conditions is simply inexcusable. To keep children in such conditions is simply inexcusable.
Jamaican law prohibits any child from being held in police custody for more than twenty-four hours.
Police officers are required immediately to place any child whom they detain in a facility run by the Children's Services Division. Only children suspected of extremely serious and violent offenses are supposed to be placed under maximum security. With better communication between the police and Children's Services, more appropriate placements for children can almost always be found. Human Rights Watch found that lock-ups are invariably overcrowded, with cells frequently holding more than twice the number of detainees for which they were designed. One facility with a capacity of 50 held 138 prisoners, including numerous minors.