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The government is seeking to establish a National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which would provide intelligence to inform state decision-making on strategic or policy issues that go beyond supporting planned operations. As proposed, the NIA will be an independent civilian state agency mandated to gather strategic information, process it into strategic intelligence and provide the government with timely advice on matters...

More than 200 students participated in a presentation on Restorative Justice, yesterday (January 23), at the Holy Trinity High School in Kingston. The event was staged as part of the initiative by the Ministry of Justice to educate students about the principles of restorative justice. The Ministry is employing a strategy of zoning high schools, which are in close proximity...

Jamaica's Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas, has assured Jamaicans living in Canada that the police are committed to winning the war on crime. Speaking on Friday, Jan. 20 to more than 300 Jamaicans at the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) Centre in Toronto, Canada, Commissioner Thomas said that despite the large number of homicides in 2005, the police force did record...

The Ministry of Justice will launch its public awareness campaign on restorative justice, with its 'Restorative Justice Opportunities' symposium on November 30 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Girl Guides Association of Jamaica headquarters in Kingston. The keynote address will be delivered by Executive Director of the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation at Prison Fellowship International, Daniel Van...

Judges Hazel Eleanor Harris and Martin Luther Gayle have been appointed Judge of the Appeal Court and Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court, respectively. They were sworn in today (November 29) by Governor-General, His Excellency Sir Howard Cooke at King's House. Mr. Harris will replace Justice Paul Harrison, who was appointed President of the Court of Appeal earlier this month,...

Custos of St. James, Clarence Nelson has lauded the contribution of Lay Magistrates to the country's justice system. Custos Nelson, who was speaking at the St. James Lay Magistrates Association's annual general meeting held on July 28 at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Montego Bay, pointed to the importance of training to the work of the Justices of the...

The Jamaica Coalition on the Rights of the Child (JCRC) will be launching two books, which seek to promote the protection of the rights of children. The launch will take place at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville this Friday, June 3, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Executive Director of JCRC, Carol Samuels told JIS News that the activity formed part...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Carol Palmer has said that Jamaica had a good record in terms of steps that have been taken to safeguard the basic human rights of all its citizens. Speaking on behalf of Minister of Justice, Senator A.J. Nicholson at the Northern Caribbean University recently, Mrs. Palmer noted that no government could afford to...

Former Attorney General, David Coore has said that the pending establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), would mark an end to Jamaica's institutional linkage to its colonial past, and signalled the beginning of a new phase in the regional integration process. This new phase, Mr. Coore remarked, "is connected with the CCJ, in that the establishment of the...

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (October 26) passed amendments to the Offences Against the Person Act, removing the mandatory sentence of death for murder and giving the court the discretion to impose a death sentence or imprisonment for life in cases that formerly attracted the mandatory sentence. Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips who piloted the Bill, explained...

Thirty of the island's court reporters are taking part in a two-year training course designed to improve their skills in recording court proceedings. The full time diploma programme is being funded by the Ministry of Justice at a cost of $15 million and will be conducted at the Justice Training Institute (JTI), located on Camp Road in Kingston. The National...

Chairman of the Health Committee for the Cultural, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund, Dr. Aggrey Irons says Jamaica needs to seek out research based intervention methods to both prevent and curtail the high level of violence plaguing the country. Addressing the weekly JIS Think Tank, the Chairman said that violence impacted on health, development, investment, and educational standards....