Parents Should Support Their Children – Chuck

Minister of Justice the Hon. Delroy Chuck is calling on parents not to depend on the system or the Family Court, but to play their part in making their children the successes they should be. He reminded the people of Manchester that children need care and attention not only from their mothers but also fathers and grandparents. He noted that successful people are often the ones who received strong family support.

“Many of our problems begin with the failure of the families. If mothers and fathers would give their children more guidance and support, financial support so the child can have meals and bus fare for school; but the fathers across Jamaica are letting down the children,” he said.

Minister Chuck was delivering the main address at Friday’s handover ceremony of the Manchester Family Court to the Judiciary. The court is situated at the historic Mandeville Court House, a section of which was destroyed by fire in 2019.

The justice minister said child abuse is often a result of parental neglect and dysfunction, and it must be prevented because children who are abused frequently become violent and resort to gangs where they find comfort. Successful children, he noted, had mother and father behind them at all stages of their development from early childhood to tertiary education.

He noted that there should be no need for family courts, but there are far too many dysfunctional families and far too many men who disappear after fathering children.

“This government is determined that justice must be at the forefront of governance because without justice there will be no peace. We will continue to improve and renovate these courts, many of which are over 100 and 200 years old, so it’s a challenge to renovate them. Under this government justice is going to get the resources to ensure that the people can access its delivery,” Chuck said.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice The Hon. Bryan Sykes noted that the court will begin operation in the first quarter of 2022 but selection of staff will begin immediately. He commended the excellent performance of the Manchester Parish Court this year.

“It pleases me to say the projected clearance rate for this year was 95.24 per cent on the criminal side and as of September 30 this year, it was 101.37 per cent, meaning that sssthe court is ahead of projection for the clearance rate for year three of our strategic plan,” Mr. Sykes said.

The repair work cost approximately $80 million and included refurbishing bathrooms, offices and courtroom; new safety and security systems, new surveillance systems, new audio visual equipment, PBX system, repainting and scrubbing of stone walls, landscaping and purchasing of all new furniture and office equipment.

Similar courts were opened in Trelawny and Clarendon and another facility is set to be opened in St. Ann. A new supreme court is also to be built.

On November 7, 2019, fire severely damaged sections of the Mandeville Parish Court including a judge’s chambers and other parts of the structure. The damage to the 204 year-old-heritage site was assessed at $35 million.