Smooth Operations Anticipated for Traffic Ticket Public Day in St. Catherine

The Court Administration Division (CAD) is preparing to launch its Traffic Ticket Public Day initiative on March 4 at the St. Catherine Parish Court, with measures in place to ensure smooth operations.

The initiative aims to provide motorists with a streamlined and convenient process for resolving outstanding traffic tickets, while addressing a backlog of approximately 200,000 tickets in the parish.

Director of Client Services, Communications and Information at the CAD, Kadiesh Jarret-Fletcher, explained during a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ that one of the measures introduced is a substantial expansion of the court’s daily operational capacity.

“We’re going to have five courtrooms that are strictly dealing with traffic ticket matters. We are putting in tents with air conditioning to ensure that persons who are waiting to go before the court are comfortable. We are also ensuring that we have additional judges on hand to make sure that the court process continues throughout the day and it continues efficiently,” she added.

Court operations will be extended beyond the usual 9:00 a.m. start, continuing into Night Court and concluding at 9:00 p.m., to ensure that the maximum number of persons can be served.

Registration for the Traffic Ticket Public Day closed on February 20. Mrs. Jarret-Fletcher emphasised that walk-ins will not be accommodated on March 4.

“If persons did not register by February 20, then they would have missed out on the opportunity to be listed before the court on March 4. But they can still contact the court and seek to have their matters listed for a convenient date,” she added.

Registered motorists attending on March 4 are required to present their driver’s licence along with copies of their outstanding tickets.

Mrs. Jarret-Fletcher confirmed that the courts are equipped to process payments either electronically or in cash.

“So for convenience, persons can [also] come with their cards as there will be point of sale machines across all our courts,” she advised.

Acting Chief Judge of the Parish Courts, Hon. Broderick Smith, explained during the ‘Think Tank’ that the initiative is designed to enhance public safety and promote the responsible use of Jamaica’s roadways.

He further encourages motorists with outstanding traffic tickets to clear them as soon as possible.

“Even beyond March 4, what we are saying is that it’s not sufficient for you simply to wait for the police to come armed with a warrant, who would then be obliged to take you into custody and take you before the court,” Mr. Smith underscored.

As part of the CAD’s ongoing backlog reduction strategy, the initiative launched in St. Catherine is expected to be replicated in other parishes with high volumes of outstanding matters.