Londa Toloraya, former head of the State Inspector’s Service and a human rights defender, has criticized the ruling Georgian Dream party’s draft law proposing the creation of a closed facility for children “in conflict with the law.”
Toloraya argues that placing children who commit offenses in a prison-like institution will not reduce juvenile crime. She notes that during Georgian Dream’s time in power, many public officials spent years working to build a liberal juvenile justice system and the newly initiated changes contradict all of that progress.
According to Toloraya, preventing juvenile crime requires a well-functioning education system, effective social services, and stronger economic support for families.
“Your 10-year-old child who steals a jar of jam from a neighbor’s home could be placed in a closed facility. The draft law would allow children from age 10 to be placed in a closed institution (meaning deprived of liberty) if they commit an offense carrying a maximum penalty of more than five years. The vast majority of juvenile offenses in this country are theft (70–80%). This includes stealing sweets and jam. So a 10-year-old who steals jam could be placed in a closed facility.”
Toloraya recalls that one of the achievements the government often highlighted was the liberal juvenile justice policy a system built through years of work by public officials.
“I can say with certainty that placing children in prison-like institutions does not prevent crime. It is a Soviet-style, worst-case solution to the ‘problem,’ and it cannot serve the best interests of the child. No child will come out of this process better off, safer, or rehabilitated.
What children need are strong education systems, social services, and support all of which have stagnated or deteriorated in recent years. Instead of developing these areas, the government proposes imprisoning 10-, 11-, 12- and 13-year-olds.”
She adds that the focus should be on supporting families and strengthening social services:
“Give children back their parents economically empower families so that dreaming is not their only way to imagine a good life. Offer an education system that makes children happy to go to school.
If a parent cannot meet a child’s needs, strengthen social services so the state can care for children who are abandoned, neglected, or unsupported before they become deeply involved in street life, leaving imprisonment as the only imagined solution. This is how you save children, not by locking them up.”
Background on the Legislative Proposal
On 17 November, Georgian Dream introduced a draft law titled “On the Rehabilitation and Support of Juveniles in Conflict with the Law.” The proposal envisions creating a “Rehabilitation and Support House” for children aged 10–14 effectively a closed facility for minors “in conflict with the law.”
Under the bill, a “juvenile in conflict with the law” is defined as a child under 14 who has committed an act defined as a criminal offense, confirmed by a prosecutor’s summary decision.
Child rights defenders have sharply criticized the initiative. Lawyer and psychologist Ana Arganashvili wrote that:
“If you want to support or rehabilitate children, you cannot do it by locking them inside a building.”