The justice ministry will take its Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Policy on the road later this month in an attempt to get more Jamaicans to amicably settle differences and further reduce the number of major crimes.

“The country is doing well, but we can do much better. We have to get murders going down and crime going down. And this is why this ADR policy is meant to assist the police and the country to settle the disputes, solve disagreements, so that they do not have to use abuse, threats, and violence to solve them. We are really planning to go out across the island to promote ADR,” Justice Minister Delroy Chuck said.

He was speaking, Wednesday, during the launch of the ADR Policy Development and Estate Planning Public Education Campaign at the ministry’s headquarters.

Arguing that many “serious crimes” begin as simple disagreements, Chuck made the point that with early intervention, citizens can be equipped with accessible and trusted mechanisms to resolve disputes.

“ADR offers a different path. It provides timely, accessible, and people-oriented and people-centred solutions, mediation, arbitration, restorative justice, negotiation, adjudication, conciliation, among others, that allows individuals, families, businesses and communities to resolve disputes earlier, faster, and more amicably, without the cost and complexity of formal court proceedings,” he said.

Chuck explained that ADR supports a cultural shift away from frequent escalation of conflict into confrontation or violence towards an environment in which dialogue, understanding, and resolution are the norm.

“We’re on the right path in terms of getting crime and violence down. [In] 2023, murder — which is a good measure of what is happening in terms of crime and violence in Jamaica — went down by nine per cent. In 2024, 19 per cent. Last year, we went down by 42 per cent. I don’t know what the percentage will be this year, but we’re really hoping it will be high, close to 50 per cent,” he said.

He is convinced ADR can help them reach that goal. The ADR concept paper was approved by Cabinet in December 2025 and was laid in the house in February as a Green Paper. Underscoring the importance of the upcoming tour, Chuck stressed the need for public participation.

“This engagement process is not a formality, it is the foundation. We’re seeking your insights, expertise, and lived experiences to help shape a comprehensive, inclusive, and effective ADR policy framework, one that reflects the realities of our people and meets the needs of all sectors. Let me say this: It is so very important for us to buy into this programme,” he charged.

Acting Director and Senior Policy Analyst at the Public Law, Restorative and Preventative Justice Unit, Sandy-Lue Cole Jarrett, told the Jamaica Observer that the tour is scheduled to begin across western parishes, including Hanover, St James, and Trelawny.

“We are going out into the different parishes to promote the development of the policy and to get stakeholders’ feedback on what they think this policy should address. For now, we have identified the week of May 20th to May 22nd to possibly hold consultations,” she said.

She added, however, that there is a possibility that a consultation session may first be held in Kingston.

Highlighting that ADR is a viable option to settle disagreements without going to court, Cole Jarrett noted that the policy aims to bring better public awareness to the methods available.

“Law enforcement and punitive measures can fall short in addressing the root causes leading to recurring cycles of crime and violence. The court process can be adversarial. ADR places strong emphasis on building better relationships. Adversarial processes are not necessarily good for long-standing amicable relationships. What ADR tries to do here is to make sure that once parties leave an ADR resolution session, they are both leaving happy, for want of a better word,” she said, underscoring that ADR will not be applicable to every scenario and is more appropriate for civil matters.

“I want to emphasise that we want society to get to a stage where there is no contemplation of going to court. Because you would have been
au fait with these ADR methods, you would have been exposed to solving disputes and conflicts by ADR. We anticipate that disputes will not escalate to a point where court intervention is required,” said Cole Jarrett.

She added that once the policy is finalised by the Parliament, it is anticipated that it will be rolled out over the five-year period of 2027 to 2031.

“We would have done the extensive consultations, we would have gone back to the green paper draft, inputted those recommendations from stakeholders for the policy to be now tabled in the Houses of Parliament. Once we’re through that, [it will be time for] national rollout — policy implementation,” she said.