40 New JPs Commissioned for St. Thomas
By: , July 22, 2022
Photo: Mark Bell
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck (seated, front row seventh right) and Custos of St. Thomas, Marcia Bennett (seated, front row sixth right), with the 40 newly minted Justices of the Peace in St. Thomas during a commissioning ceremony on Thursday (July 21) at the Yallahs Baptist Church in the parish.
Photo: Mark Bell
Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck (right) and Custos of St. Thomas, Marcia Bennett (left), welcome Branch Manager, Morant Bay Post Office, Erica Morris-Turner (centre) to the office of Justice of the Peace. Mrs. Turner is among 40 individuals in St. Thomas who took the oath of office at a commissioning ceremony on Thursday (July 21) at the Yallahs Baptist Church in the parish.
Photo: Mark Bell
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck (right), presents the official seal to former Member of Parliament for St. Thomas Eastern, Dr. Fenton Ferguson (centre) on his commissioning as a Justice of the Peace in the parish. At left is Custos of St. Thomas, Marcia Bennett.
Photo: Mark Bell
Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, addresses the commissioning ceremony for 40 Justices of the Peace in St. Thomas on Thursday (July 21) at the Yallahs Baptist Church.The Full Story
Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, is calling on Justices of the Peace (JPs) to exercise humility in their duties.
Addressing the commissioning ceremony for 40 new JPs in St. Thomas on Thursday (July 21), Minister Chuck lamented, “Far too many Justices of the Peace lack humility. There is no doubt that as JPs you have an important standing in your community, but I urge all of you to be humble; people look up to you, but you don’t have to behave as if you’re holier than thou.”
He urged the new Justices to perform their duties with civility and decency, and to be beacons of light in their communities.
The minister also reignited his call for an end to the malpractice of using the office of JP for financial gain, citing that, “it is not worth your integrity”.
Custos of St. Thomas, Marcia Bennett, congratulated the group and reminded that with the role, they are now “peacekeepers and community leaders”.
The 40 individuals who took the oath of office at the Yallahs Baptist Church in the parish, include former Member of Parliament for St. Thomas Eastern, Dr. Fenton Ferguson; Head of the Special Education Department at the Lyssons Primary School, Jacqueline Hendricks-White; two-time author, Kimberly Thompson and Branch Manager at the Morant Bay Post Office, Erica Morris-Turner.
Mrs. Morris-Turner joined the other JPs who welcomed the new role and responsibilities. She noted that as a Justice of the Peace, she is better able to serve her community, especially in her line of work.
“There are so many pensioners who come in [to the post office] that I know and they need the assistance of a JP but cannot find any. I can now assist them and that will be a plus,” she told JIS News.
The Ministry of Justice characterises a JP as a person of unquestionable integrity who seeks to promote and protect the rights of individuals and help to give justice to persons in a particular community.
The office is voluntary, governed by a code of conduct, and prospective JPs go through a period of training before they are commissioned into office.