SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Staff at the St Elizabeth court office in Santa Cruz are growing increasingly frustrated over poor security and lack of water there.

The court staff were moved from their home base in Black River after Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica on October 28, 2025.

The winds, rain, and high waves associated with the Category 5 storm damaged, or destroyed critical structures in Black River including the courthouse, Tax Administration Jamaica office, Black River Hospital, schools, commercial buildings, and homes.

To minimise the delay in the delivery of justice, staff at Black River Court House were moved to the building in Santa Cruz but on Thursday they told the Jamaica Observer that they are worried that sufficient security measures have not been put in place at the court office, which is just behind Santa Cruz Police Station on Coke Drive.

Members of staff, who spoke with the Observer on condition of anonymity, pointed to a recent incident in which a man barged into the court office and grabbed a box of files.

“It was last Thursday when we were working in the office and a man just came inside. There was a box with files that we took from Black River and he just came in… grabbed the box and we hit it out of his hands. Then he grabbed a pack of files from the box and just walked out with it,” said one staff member.

“Everybody raised an alarm and the police came around and held him to get the files from his hands. What if he had a weapon? He could have easily hurt anyone of us. Even after that the court administrator came and we had a meeting and nobody showed any compassion,” the staff member claimed.

According to Observer sources, following that incident the police were asked to patrol the court office, but that was done for only one day.

“They [the administrators] said they had highlighted the need for security and they haven’t got a response. The senior parish court judge heard about it and reached out to the leadership of the St Elizabeth police to come in and patrol. They did it last Friday and since Friday I don’t see it happen again,” alleged another staff member.

The staff claimed that their challenges have been compounded by the lack of running water, even for restrooms, at the court.

“People come to the court and threaten us and make outbursts. The incident [last Thursday] should have shown the need for security. We need something to be done about it. We don’t have any water here and nothing is being done about it; if we want to use the bathroom we have to catch water in a bucket,” said the staff member.

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes has repeatedly pointed to the poor conditions of court buildings across the island.

Recently, a militant Sykes said if he was allowed to be politically incorrect, there are no courts in Jamaica that Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck or his Permanent Secretary Grace Ann Stewart McFarlane would agree to work from, except the Court of Appeal building in downtown Kingston.

He also expressed concern over what he described as the Government’s silence on the repair of courthouses damaged by Hurricane Melissa.

Pointing to the destruction of the Black River courthouse and ongoing disruptions in Westmoreland and other western parishes, Sykes questioned the plan for the repairs or reconstruction.

“In all the discussions about rebuilding bigger, better and more resilient, not one word has been said about the courthouse in Black River or other courts, as if to suggest it is not a matter of great importance,” Sykes said.

Hurricane Melissa severely affected court facilities in St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, and St James.

In St Elizabeth, the Black River courthouse was demolished and will require a new building, while roof damage in Westmoreland rendered the parish court unusable, forcing Circuit Court matters to be transferred to neighbouring Hanover. The Family Court in Westmoreland was also out of operation due to Melissa damage.