East Kingston Residents Benefit from free Legal Services

Residents of East Kingston yesterday (December 7) benefited from free legal information and advice at a justice fair staged by the Legal Aid Council (LAC).

The fair, which was held on the grounds of the Vauxhall High School on Windward Road, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP), and involved public-sector agencies concerned with justice and legal matters.

Information was provided on the expungement of criminal records, wills, land titles, mortgages, victim support, copyrighting, criminal matters, dispute resolution, child custody and maintenance, and birth and marriage registration.

Community member, Adolphus Kelly, told JIS News that he was very appreciative of the free legal advice he received.

“I heard about this fair today and I have this problem bothering me for the past year. It’s not that I didn’t know how to go about it, but I cannot afford it so I just come to get some legal advice, and I am comfortable with the advice I got,” he told JIS News.

Executive Director, LAC, Hugh Faulkner, informed that the fair was the fourth and final one for the year.

He said the public has been very appreciative of the services provided. “The distribution of legal-aid clinics in Jamaica is not as widespread as they should be… so what the justice fair does is to bring all these entities (together) to reach the citizens,” he said.

Communications Officer, CSJP, Leroy Porteous, told JIS News that the fairs seek to increase awareness about major issues, such as new laws that have been passed by the Government.

He informed that sessions were held in CSJP-targeted communities in Montego Bay, St. James; May Pen, Clarendon; and Spanish Town, St. Catherine. Similar events will be staged next year.

The participants were provided with free legal advice, consultation and information from public-sector entities such as the Dispute Resolution Foundation; Victim Support Division; Criminal and

Civil Justice Administration; Consumer Affairs Commission; Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP); Restorative Justice Unit of the Ministry of Justice; Administrator General’s Department; Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM); Office of the Public Defender, and the CSJP.

CSJP seeks to build community safety and security through crime reduction and social-intervention initiatives. The areas of focus are provision of opportunities for employment and further education through remedial studies, life skills, and technical skills development; culture change for peaceful coexistence, including non-violent conflict resolution; and community and alternative-justice services.

The CSJP, which began in 2001, is in its final phase, and is scheduled to end in 2019.