Eric Scotland is 19, but doesn't know his date of birth. He knows he's 19, he says, because the court told him he was 17 when he was convicted on charges of breaking and entering two years ago.

Scotland never cared that much about his life before he was committed to the Youth Training Centre (YTC).

Now he cares a little. So he asked if the date could be written on a piece of paper for him.

"My birthday is the 17^th December, 1997," the note said. Scotland, slim, about five foot seven inches tall, and dark, stared blankly at the paper. He can't read. When the note was read to him, he nodded and put it away.

By the time he was sentenced to three years in YTC (all boys are committed to the YTC for no less than three years and a maximum of four years), Scotland had notched up 12 charges - all for robbery and related charges. This is his first conviction. He blames "frustration" and friends for being here, though he comes from a home where "I had everything."

"I just do it for frustration, but you could say friends too. I used to listen more to my friends." He looked down at his hands.

"I feel bad because things I used to do out there I can't do here - like playing music with my brother or staying home with my family."

Scotland, one of eight children from La Brea, looks down a lot.

He remembers the date he lost his freedom - "May 12, 1995."

"Boy, you sharp like a nail with that," the officer presiding over the interview exclaimed.

Still, Scotland keeps getting into trouble. Recently, he broke into the trade shop and attempted to steal some tools. He was put in the "Disassociation Unit" - where boys who behave badly go. It's also where those with contagious diseases are housed.

The "Dis Unit" consists of cells. Otherwise, the boys, who on October 24^th numbered 234 (275 has been the highest so far), sleep in dormitories. The dorms are gloomy places with little light; still, they're fairly clean.

There are 14 dorms - three for remandees - all after trees - like Balata, Poui 1 and 2 and Mora.

Some boys have their own "cubicles" within the dorm, which are allotted only after six to eight months in the centre. They afford inhabitants privacy, while allowing enough visibility for officers to monitor them.

Lads (they're never called convicts: officers are strict about distancing the institution from the stigma of prison) who are about to be released sleep in a "pre-release" dorm. If a lad is released early, the police are notified. If he misbehaves, he gets sent back to the centre to complete his sentence. Parents can also have him sent back for bad behaviour. Boys who want guidance after their release are free to call on officers.

Trusted lads get weekend leave after 14-16 months and after their fourth conduct grade. An assessment is done every three months.

For Scotland, that might never happen.

"They does look at me as a madman because of some of the things I does do," he piped up. Some of those things include breaking into the trade shop, and then breaking into it again the next day if he gets a chance. He can't explain why he does it.

A slight improvement in his behaviour has earned him the right to spend his days in the dormitory with the other lads, and nights in the cell. If he continues to be good, he might be out of the "Dis Unit" by next month.

"The Superintendent real trying for me and I made a promise I'd keep outa trouble and if I keep outa trouble, I’ll go back in the kitchen."

The kitchen is where many boys aspire to work so they can eat to their hearts' content. Some become such good cooks they get jobs outside. Two lads work at restaurants in Kantac Plaza, Arouca, and in St. Augustine, and another at a bakery.

Kitchen lads prepare food to sell to staff and outside agents. Today they're cooking pigeon peas pelau, coleslaw and salad for sale, and rice with peas and stewed pork or beef for themselves. Vegetarians get their own menu.

The kitchen lads get paid a percentage of what the YTC charges for external jobs, to be handed to them on release. Some leave with a few thousand dollars.

Scotland used to work in the kitchen, but asked to be moved to study mechanics. His father is a senior mechanic in a garage where, Scotland says, he can expect to get a job when he's released. Now he wants to go back to the kitchen.

Keeping out of trouble has additional benefits for Scotland:

"They real beat me bad when I do things wrong," he complained. "But sometimes they does try talking to me."

However, Superintendent of the YTC Verne Sylvester denied that Scotland was beaten, saying, "he doesn't tell the truth." During the interview, Scotland had claimed to be one of the boys who had broken out of the institution earlier this year to go on jaunts to Port of Spain and Maloney.

Sylvester said several boys had been involved in the breakouts, and had got as far as Maloney, but that Scotland was not one of them.

Scotland's mother and father, with both of whom he used to live, are his only visitors.

He is probably lucky. Seventy percent of the boys in the YTC are from single-parent homes and most see only their mothers. The majority are black. There are few Indians and no whites.

Most boys are in there for armed robbery, wounding, larceny and housebreaking, cocaine trafficking and possession, and malicious damage. Seven are on remand for murder and two on remand for rape.

If convicted of murder, the boys may either stay at the YTC until they're 21 or then go to adult prison, or go straight to jail. Their sentences will be reviewed every four years and they may be released upon the recommendation of Commissioner of Prisons, Cipriani Baptiste.

Remandees have the toughest time in the YTC - "some of them envy the lads", said an officer - because they remain locked up for most of the day.

Meanwhile the lads take part in programmes such as welding, leathercraft, tailoring, food preparation, upholstery, vegetable growing, bee keeping and farming (sheep and ducks; the chicken project is on hold pending financing from the National Commission for Self-Help). Boys are grouped in dorms according to their trade areas.

People from Servol, Alternatives to Custody, Lifeline and other non-governmental organizations visit regularly and conduct self-awareness and upliftment sessions.

Remandees can't eat with the lads - meals are handed to them in their dormitories. "They need more security," said the officer, "because they haven't yet settled in. They are more rebellious than the other boys."

The only consolation remandees get is that they can wear their own clothes while lads wear all-white or all-brown shorts and polo shirts.

Remandees are also entitled to twice-weekly visits. Lads get visits up to twice a month for 20-40 minutes, depending on seniority. Remandees between 12 and 15, though, get to go to school with the lads, tutored by volunteers from Servol and Alternatives to Custody.

Scotland is in level 1, the lowest of all levels, at the YTC's school where he is working towards his school leaving certificate. It's compulsory for all YTC boys to get this.

He says he hasn't made many changes to his life except that "I can now cook and fix cars. I never used to be able to cook." And his self-esteem has risen a bit. "I care about myself more now." His eyes again head for the floor.

Fazal Hosein is 19, articulate and looks you straight in the eye when he talks.

"I do catering as a trade, rugby as a sport and I go to school," he states.

"Following friends" is the reason Hosein, a first-time offender, is in the YTC for three years. He stole a computer and a typewriter so he could sell them and buy brand-name clothes.

"As a young boy you want brands," he says. Now Hosein, an only child, regrets it.

"Following friends and trying to please friends got me in trouble. But this incarceration is like a blessing in disguise because it's changed my life. I was going up a dead end, but now it'll lead to a better future. I understand brands will dry-rot after a while and I can invest my money in something else."

None of his friends visits him.

Hosein seems to have a good relationship with the officers - "Once you give them their respect you get back respect", he said. One officer described him as "hardworking, respectful and focused."

That makes all the difference to the way the boys are treated.

"Once the lads are focused they'll by encouraged. We're more aggressive to the clowns here," said the officer.

Hosein is about to sit his CXC examinations. But he's not sure what he wants to do when he leaves except that he expects too join his mother and grandmother in the USA and get a "good job." His mother left for the States three months ago. His grandmother, with whom he grew up in Iere Village, left about eight years ago. He "felt good" when his mother left because his stepfather, a drinker, "wasn't treating her good." They had six children together.

Hosein gets on better with his natural father now (he has four other children with a second wife) because "I behaving myself now. I tell my brothers ad sisters what I did was wrong and I've learned from my mistakes. I apologize for my wrongs."

He could be classed as one of YTC's "successes." Rugby player Mark Hamilton, 18, is another.

Hamilton, who was convicted for armed robbery, has become such a good player that he made the national team. He too is studying for his CXC exams, which he'll sit next year. He expects to be released on November 16, 1998, but officers say it could be much sooner.

For a lot of boys the horizon may be bleaker.

"The problem is, boys go back to the same environment," said an officer. "They have to be strong to resist it. Some can't."

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YTC Achievements (1996):

• One lad awarded a scholarship to attend the Institute of Broadcasting Careers in Belmont.

• Two lads obtained scholarships to attend the National Academy of Business Arts and Computing in Port of Spain.

• Received an award of merit in the 1996 Young Leaders Project titled "Refurbishing of the Junior Boys' Dormitory" at St. Mary's Home, Tacarigua.

• Won the 1996 National East Zone Under 19 Football League and were finalists in the F.A. Cup

• Overall winners in Best Village art and craft competition.

• Winners of the Eastern Football Association's Under 20s league and F.A. Cup.

• Winners of the Thornbury Knockout Challenge Plate (Rugby).

YTC Achievements (1997):

• One boy attained seven CXC passes.

• Mark Hamilton represented the country in rugby and travelled to Guadeloupe and Bermuda with the national rugby team.

• YTC won the Defence Force seven-a-side "Losers Plate".

• A number of boys chosen to do on-the-job training at various business places.

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