Ministry Partnering with Churches to Take Alternative Justice Services to Citizens

The Ministry of Justice is seeking to increase collaboration with churches and other stakeholders to bring information about the alternative justice programmes to citizens.

This was disclosed by portfolio Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, during a church service held at the Williamsfield Seventh-day Adventist Church in St. Elizabeth on June 15.

“We want to be able to bring the programmes right across every community, and we are working very closely with the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) President in Jamaica, Pastor Everrett Brown, to ensure that we visit your conferences when you have them. But I also want to get our social justice team within each parish to participate as much as possible in the churches,” he said.

“The reason we are doing this is to let every resident in every nook and cranny of Jamaica know that they can get help [and] they should take the help to avoid disputes resulting in conflicts, because when they get into conflicts, it oftentimes results in further abuse, sometimes violence and, too often, fatalities,” he pointed out.

Minister Chuck underscored the importance of forging partnerships to “let our people know that they should avoid the violence”.

The church service formed part of three days of activities in the parish, from June 13 to June 15, to increase awareness about the alternative justice services being offered by the Ministry, which include restorative justice, child diversion, victim services and mediation.

Among the activities held in St. Elizabeth were a town hall, a Justice of the Peace (JP) sensitisation session, and a visit to the Black River High School.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining and Member of Parliament for St. Elizabeth Southwestern, Hon. Floyd Green, commended the Ministry for “taking justice on the road”.

“Oftentimes we think of justice as a concept far from us but the concept of justice for all is something that we must embrace,” he noted.

During the church service, representatives from several alternative justice departments of the Ministry made presentations to the congregation and encouraged them to spread the word about the services being offered.