KINGSTON, Jamaica- Justice Minister, Delroy Chuck, says the Government has initiated the recruitment of 20 attorneys for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to strengthen the preparation and timely completion of case files, in order to enhance greater efficiency within the justice system.

“I don’t think they have really appointed all 20 as yet. But the idea of the 20 attorneys is that these attorneys will work with the investigators to make sure that the reports, all the documents are brought in on time, and [that] even the affidavits are properly put together. They will work closely with the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions),” the minister said.

“It’s a major problem. You have cases being put on and off, on and off, and we are really hoping that a number of the policy directions which we have dealt with over the past five years will ensure that cases can be completed. We are making progress. In the parish courts, we are dealing with cases within nine months now,” Chuck added.

He was addressing the CCJ Academy for Law regional townhall at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, on Thursday.

The hybrid session focused on advancing justice in the Caribbean, post Needham’s Point Declaration.

Minister Chuck lamented that one of the drawbacks in getting cases started in Jamaica is to get a file completed.

“The greatest problem is to get the forensic reports, and when you ask the head of the forensic lab, Judith Mowatt, she says yes they are prepared, but nobody collects them… and in court, when the investigators are asked, they are still waiting on the reports and, in fact, if they had checked, they had been at the forensic lab many weeks or months before,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chuck noted that recommendations outlined in the Needham’s Point Declaration are consistent with a good criminal justice system, “and, certainly, they are consistent with what I hope we can achieve here in Jamaica.”

The Needham’s Point Declaration follows six themes and contains 39 recommendations for the reform of the criminal justice system in the Caribbean.

Chuck noted that an integrated criminal justice system will enable a smooth process among the various sectors.

“We seem to have firewalls between the different components, and a couple years ago, I was in Rwanda with Chief Justice, Bryan Sykes, and the Rwandan system has an integrated criminal justice system where technology connects the Court of Appeal, High Court and other courts with the DPP, with the police, with the forensic lab, with the correctional services, with the health authority. So, yes, there are firewalls between them; but at least the technology is such that you can get things moving, documents moving in seconds,” he said.