JTI Trains Over 1,600 JPs Using Online Modality

The Justice Ministry’s Justice Training Institute (JTI) has trained over 1,600 Justices of the Peace (JP) between April 2020 and August 2021, using the online modality.

Of that number, 350 have been trained since the start of the new financial year, April 2021, said Principal Director of the JTI, Karen Campbell Bascoe.

She told JIS News that between April 2020 and now, more than 130 individuals have also been trained through the JTI’s academic programmes, which are full-time one-year and two-year courses.

Mrs. Campbell Bascoe said that the online training has enabled the JTI to reach more JPs. She noted that prior to the online modality, participants only came from the Corporate Area and neighbouring parishes.

“We would have had [persons from] Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and a few persons from St Thomas. That would have been the extent to which the participants would have been involved. Now, with the online modality, we have participants spanning all the way to St. James, Hanover, and St. Ann, enrolled,” she noted.

“It’s easier for students to access and come online at the scheduled hours for classes. We’ve been doing well. We offered over 36 sessions for the JPs, and we’ve had five different programmes operating from April 2020 to now,” she said.

She informed that for “the academic programmes or other longer programmes running for several months into two years, usually at the end, the students graduate with a diploma once they successfully completed”.

Meanwhile, the JTI continues to offer courses that have been in high demand, such as the Diploma in Paralegal Studies and Deputy Clerks of Court Qualified Programme.

“Individuals who want to serve as deputy clerks must successfully complete that programme. We also continue to customise programmes for different justice sector entities and individuals, depending on their training needs. For our JPs, we continue to do our qualifying training, which is mandatory for individuals who want to be considered for commissioning as a JP,” Mrs. Campbell Bascoe told JIS News.

JPs also undergo specialised training in different areas, after being commissioned.

These include Lay Magistrates Court training, Spirits Licence panel training, training within the Drug Treatment Court, training for the Children’s Court and specialised areas that deal with criminal proceedings and other related activities.

In addition to promoting and protecting the rights of citizens, JPs have multiple roles, including serving as a Justice in the Court of Petty Sessions, explaining and signing documents, and giving counsel and advice.