Justices Of The Peace Urged To Be Guardians Of The Office
By: , August 12, 2021
Photo: Dave Reid
Newly commissioned Justices of the Peace for St. Catherine (from left), Jeffrey McKenzie and Dwight Stewart take the Oath of Office during a virtual commissioning ceremony broadcast from the Phillippo Baptist Church in the parish on Wednesday (August 11). They were among 207 JPs who were sworn in during the ceremony. The majority of the JPs participated virtually.
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, addresses a virtual ceremony for the commissioning of 207 Justices of the Peace (JP) for St. Catherine. The ceremony was broadcast from the Phillippo Baptist Church in the parish on Wednesday (August 11). The majority of the JPs participated virtually.
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck (background), observes as newly appointed Justice of the Peace (JP) for St. Catherine, Kimetha Boothe-Francis, takes the Oath of Office during a virtual commissioning ceremony broadcast from the Phillippo Baptist Church in the parish on Wednesday (August 11). Ms. Boothe-Francis was among 207 JPs, who were commissioned during the ceremony. The majority of the JPs participated virtually.The Full Story
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, is encouraging Justices of the Peace (JPs) to be guardians of their office and report those among them who seek to bring the service into disrepute.
“If you know of other JPs, and after you warn them and they still don’t do right, report them to the Custos,” he urged.
Minister Chuck was addressing the virtual ceremony for the commissioning of another 207 JPs for St. Catherine, which was broadcast from the Phillippo Baptist Church in the parish on Wednesday (August 11).
The new cohort boosts the complement of JPs serving St. Catherine to just over 1,000.
Minister Chuck thanked the JPs for their willingness to serve their country.
“I expect that in offering your service that you will do so…diligently and honestly, and do so without fear or favour, do so eagerly, but also bear in mind that you must be careful that you are not used,” he advised.
He told the new JPs that it is important that they stand up against anyone who would seek to use their service as a means of engaging in corruption, warning that oftentimes, JPs can be the gateway to illegality and corruption depending on what they condone.
“If you sign a form for someone you don’t know and swear and affirm that the person is known to you when you are meeting the person for the first time, you are undermining the integrity of your office,” Mr. Chuck noted.
He encouraged JPs to be firm and have the courage and the fortitude to not be swayed and to “stand up for what is right”.
The Minister further called on the newly installed JPs and the other seasoned members of the service to aid in recruiting like-minded persons of unquestionable integrity, persons with unblemished character, who would also be willing to serve the office.
Meanwhile, he urged the JPs to get the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine and to persuade at least five others to do the same, “so that at least 1,000 persons, because of my request to you, will have taken the vaccine in short order”.
“The sooner we get vaccinated, the earlier we can get back to normal,” he said, noting that this cannot be achieved unless there is herd immunity where at least 1.5 million Jamaicans are vaccinated.
Just under 400,000 Jamaicans have been vaccinated to date.