Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, while crediting the “notable successes” of the courts in different areas of operation, says there still exists long delays in setting trial dates and handing down judgments. Mr. Chuck noted that he has been “very strident” on the matter of the long delays in delivering judgments. “This is an issue which the Chief Justice...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr Horace Chang, has hailed the Caribbean Military Academy (CMA) as the gold standard for military training in the region. He said that as the academic institutional arm of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), the CMA is providing training of the highest quality, bringing a greater level of strategic thinking to Jamaica’s security architecture. “It...

The Justice Ministry expended $1 billion between January 2019 and March 2020 to construct, renovate and retrofit justice facilities across the island, providing comfortable, safe and aesthetically pleasing surroundings for the delivery of justice services. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, in his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate on June 24 said that a Victim Services Division (VSD) office was...

Thousands of adults and children who are victims of crime benefited from assistance through the Victim Services Division (VSD) in the 2019/2020 fiscal year. “These include assisting 4,244 children through court support, trauma and grief therapy and special intervention programmes; providing court support for 533 adults; and developing a Missing Children Risk Assessment Tool (MCRAT) to assist parents in identifying...

As at Thursday (June 25), Jamaica recorded six new COVID-19 cases and five additional recoveries. This brings to 684 the total number of confirmed positives and to 526 the number of recoveries. The new cases are comprised of two males and four females, with ages ranging from six to 35 years. They are from Westmoreland (2), St. James (1), Kingston...

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says progress is being made in the implementation of the National Child Diversion Programme. The Minister, who was making his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 24, noted that, so far, 13 Child Diversion Parish Offices have been established, core staff for the programme appointed, and 13...

As one of the solutions to reduce backlog in the courts, the Justice Ministry has been promoting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, such as mediation and restorative justice (RJ) conferences. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, said the Restorative Justice Programme contributed significantly to the decrease in the number of cases now being dealt with in the parish courts, as those...