All Informers Are Heroes – Minister Chuck

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, is imploring Jamaicans to report criminal activities in their communities – calling those who do so, “heroes”.

He said that the task of reducing murders cannot be left solely to the police.

“The citizens of this country must all be prepared to be informers. I’m the biggest informer. All informers are heroes. When they see persons with guns or threatening violence, bring the police in it. Let us see if we can prevent a few of these criminal activities and murders,” he said.

He was addressing the 15th staging of the Restorative Justice Conference held on Wednesday (February 7) at The Summit in Kingston, under the theme ‘Transformation, Peace and Harmony through Restorative Justice’.

Minister Chuck urged Jamaicans to utilise the Ministry’s Restorative Justice (RJ) programme to reduce murders and violence in the society.

Restorative justice seeks to resolve conflicts by having all parties involved come together to reach an agreement.

“If persons resolve disputes and conflicts peacefully, we can have less murders. It is just not right that we have over 1,000 murders per year, and I hope that in 2024, for the first time in perhaps 30 odd years, we can see murders drop below 1,000. Wouldn’t that be great?” he asked.

Noting that more than 30 per cent of murders stem from domestic violence, Mr. Chuck said, “I know that restorative justice can play a part”.

“The testimonials are such that when you listen to them, you ask ‘why doesn’t Jamaica know more about this healing power of restorative justice?’,” he said.

Mr. Chuck said restorative justice officers, facilitators and volunteers must begin to move with “missionary zeal” in schools, churches, business places, in communities and on construction sites, to curtail violence.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Hon. Marsha Smith, in noting the benefits of restorative justice said the approach “has the capacity to build among us, as people, empathy, self-esteem, non-violent communication and peaceful conflict management”.

The Ministries of Justice and Education, on Monday (February 5), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the continued delivery of restorative practices training in schools across Jamaica.

Ms. Smith pointed out that the MOU will equip school administrators with tools to deal with indiscipline, including viable alternatives to detention and exclusion from school activities.

“We know that, traditionally, our school systems have focused on punitive measures to manage indiscipline and maladaptive behaviours among students and, therefore, this change towards restorative justice is very welcome because it allows the healing to take place within our communities and among our stakeholders,” Ms. Smith said.

For more information on restorative justice, persons may contact the Ministry of Justice toll-free at 888-JUSTICE (888-587-8423) or visit their website at www.moj.gov.jm.