Jamaicans Encouraged to Use Appropriate Conflict Resolution Measures

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, is encouraging citizens to utilise appropriate conflict resolution measures, pointing out that resorting to violence only heightens heated situations.

“There is no reason for us to be using rage, abuses, threats, violence, and sometimes fatal violence, to solve our problems. Far too many Jamaicans feel that unless they deliver the ‘last lick’, then there is no justice. So they use violence, they employ gunmen and they employ violence producers to resolve conflicts,” he noted.

The Minister was addressing a Legal Aid Council (LAC) Justice Fair, at Lawrence Park, in St. Ann’s Bay, St. Ann, on Friday (May 26).

Mr. Chuck further pointed out that using violence as a solution also causes an unfortunate cycle of conflict, which often affects families.

“Violence cannot be the way to solve your problems. Trying to use it to solve issues creates more problems than you intend and want to, because an act of violence often attracts retaliation, and there is a cycle of violence when it is used,” the Minister said.

“So, before any Jamaican believes that he or she can solve a problem using violence, bear in mind you are attracting more violence to you, your families and loved ones,” he added.

Mr. Chuck also encouraged persons to utilise the Ministry’s various services, such as restorative justice and child diversion, among others.

Scores of residents in St. Ann attended the fair, which included 24 booths set up by the Ministry of Justice and government agencies.

The residents were able to access various justice services, including making a will, victim support, and legal aid.

The Legal Aid Council is a statutory entity under the Ministry of Justice, with a mandate to administer an efficient and coordinated legal aid system in Jamaica.