A 16-year-old girl who was sentenced to a three-month jail term should serve the time in a shelter under police custody, an appeals court judge recommended yesterday.

The problem is, there is no such shelter available.

Mr Justice David Scicluna, sitting in the Court of Criminal Appeal, had himself highlighted this lacuna at the end of last month during the appeal proceedings. He had heard how the girl, who was convicted of theft, was on remand in a woman’s prison, living with people awaiting trials for murder, among others.

Yesterday he upheld her conviction but turned up the pressure on the system. Instead of sending the girl to jail he recommended that she be sent to a guarded shelter.

Mr Justice Scicluna, who has tried to help the girl since December 2009 when he first came into contact with her situation, said the girl should be jailed as she had shown no motivation to change her ways.

The girl, whose name cannot be mentioned by court order, has been institutionalised since the age of three, said her lawyer Peter Fenech, who represents the government support agency Appoġġ.

The lawyer painted a picture of a desperate teenager caught in vicious circle because she had no where to live. She had previously been remanded to the Female section B of the Corradino Correctional Facility but this was no place for a girl of her age, the lawyer had said.

In the judgment yesterday, Ms Justice David Scicluna pointed to the fact that she had at first turned down the opportunity to go on hairdressing and food handling courses

She also had the chance to start working with a modelling agency but failed to turn up for the interview, she missed appointments with her probation officer while out on bail on this case and admitted to using heroin.

The girl also had attitude problems because when persons at her current shelter had tried to show her the way forward, she got angry and this was affecting not only staff but the other residents too.

Mr Justice Scicluna said that her behavioural pattern was preoccupying and he had hoped that she would reform herself with the help of professionals but the only way forward was for her to pull her socks up.

In handing down judgment, however, the judge ordered that she serve her jail term in a shelter under police supervision.

He sent a copy of the judgment to the Justice Minister, the Social Policy Minister and the Children’s Commissioner.