ST JAMES, Jamaica – Minister of Justice, Delroy Chuck, has implored Justices of the Peace (JPs) to lead the charge in fostering a more empathetic and gentle society in Jamaica.

Chuck expressed the view that most JPs are inherently “kind and loving” individuals who possess the qualities needed to help combat the growing issues of incivility and aggression plaguing the society.

“The potential of a JP Association to do good is really enormous, and I have so much faith and so much focus and feel that the JPs across our country are the ones who can provide our citizens with a kind and gentle attitude towards one another,” he said.

Chuck was speaking at a sensitisation session for JPs from Portland, St Mary, St Ann and Trelawny, held at Sandals Resort Ocho Rios in St Ann on November 3.

He encouraged the JPs to collaborate through their association to devise strategies to make a positive impact and to stamp out coarseness, brutishness, and violence in the country.

The Minister attributed the escalating hostility and brutality to a breakdown in interpersonal relationships and a lack of empathy within communities.

“That is why my great hope is that the parish associations could, on a regular basis, meet and find out how can we assist families to behave properly towards one another. The level of domestic abuse within homes is an epidemic,” Chuck remarked.

To combat the prevailing inclination towards revenge and violence, Minister Chuck urged victims of abuse to seek counselling through victim services, rather than resorting to violence or contracting killers to settle their disputes.

“A lot of women and a lot of men too are suffering, and we need to be able to tell families, if there is a victim service, please go [and] get counselling. Don’t take it out by planning revenge and contracting killers, using violence to solve the problem,” he said.

The Justice Minister acknowledged that while Jamaica has seen economic growth, it can achieve so much more by addressing these pressing social issues.

He called for the JPs to utilise their collective imagination, to determine how best they can assist their communities and neighbourhoods, in improving the quality of life for everyone.

“Jamaica is at a crossroads where we can do even much better, so that we can use the successes that we have and ask how much more successes can we gain on this,” the Minister said.

The sensitisation session focused on the JPs’ role in estate planning, signing passport documents, life certifications and the Justice Ministry’s subvention for JP parish associations.

– JIS