CAMBRIDGE, St James

Residents of this and surrounding com-munities, no longer have to travel to Montego Bay for the mention of their cases, following the opening of a $65-million dollar courthouse and police station here.

“The proximity of the court to your community will ensure that justice is within the reach of every person – farmer, domestic workers, business persons and the unemployed,” Auditor General and Minister of

Justice Senator Dorothy Lightbourne noted at Tuesday’s official opening ceremony in Cambridge.

She added: “The court and police station represent another step towards access to justice for all”.

Three years ago, the necessity for the trek to the Montego Bay court surfaced after the building, which formerly housed the courthouse in the community, became uninhabitable.

Contracts valuing over $57 million were signed for the construction of a police station and a courthouse in this community by the then Justice Minister AJ Nicholson, who also broke ground for the joint venture between the Ministry of Security and the justice ministry.

Senator Lightbourne also noted that for the fiscal period April to October, 2008, $86.36 million has been spent on the physical infrastructure of courts across the island.

“And although it doesn’t look that way, when you see the state of the Courthouses, you can understand the state they were in before. The largest sums have been spent on Cambridge and Balaclava, representing $23.4 and $22.8 million respectively”.

She also signalled the justice ministry’s intent to commence the automation of the nation’s Courts.

“We will be putting the equipment in place for the trial of cases, so that evidence can be taken swiftly and accurately”.

Security minister, Senator Trevor McMillan, argued that Cambridge is one of the over 10 police stations identified for major refurbishment this financial year for which $150 million is allocated.

” It may seem small when one considers how severely run-down stations are across the island. But modest as it is, it represents a 50 per cent increase on last year’s budget. That is progress, by any standard,” the security minister noted.