Government was yesterday urged to make a public statement on the prison?s management report, extend the Alternatives to Incarceration programme to juvenile offenders and stop jailing fathers who are delinquent on their child support payments.

Opposition Senator Kenneth Bascome made the comments in a speech to his Senate colleagues yesterday.

He reminded his colleagues that he had disapproved of a decision to seek a Prisons Commissioner from Jamaica when the talent could be found locally.

And he called for other changes in the penal system, including changing the qualification period for a rehabilitation certificate from seven to five years.

He told his fellow Senators that he had first asked when ATI would be extended to juvenile and young offenders at a conference three years ago.

?The response was, ?we are working with the adult population first?,? Sen. Bascome said. ?If you are building a home would you build the roof first or would you lay the foundation, then the sides, then the roof? How do you see working with the adult population as an advantage??

He went on to say that the justice system should stop ?institutionalising? people who are behind in their child support payments and take other measures such as impounding property.

?I still maintain that it is more costs more to institutionalise fathers than it does to impound vehicles or impound their travel documents,? he said.

Attorney General Sen. Larry Mussenden interjected saying that people had constitutional rights to travel.

But Sen. Bascome insisted that ?as the Attorney General you have the right to do certain things? going on to argue that ?If the US can prevent us going there, I believe we have the ability to cause people from leaving this country Locking up people for child support, in my humble opinion, makes no sense?.

The Senator added that a number of young people had approached him to complain that white collar crime was treated more leniently by the authorities than stealing a bike.

?As a country we have resorted to sending people to prison for too many things,? he said.

Sen. Mussenden responded by saying that the Public Safety Minister was addressing the issues in the prison management report, ?will carry out the decisions he comes to and address all the important areas?.

He then turned to the issue of delinquent parents and said only the most serious child support delinquents got sent to jail.

?For a period of time many parents of children in this country have been owed millions of dollars. In most cases it?s fathers having to pay mothers and our court system is designed to deal with that,? Sen. Mussenden said. ?The courts must take steps to make them pay.?

He added that once incarcerated they are allowed out to work during the day to earn money which gets turned over to the courts so they can pay off the debts.

?Is it right that our children are denied the money due to them ?? he asked.

And the Senator called on fathers to mark Father?s Day by forgoing their own celebration by sending money they would normally spend on themselves to their children instead.