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Poverty to Prosperity
Budget Presentation
Gordon House March 19, 2015
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identity. Law Enforcement be enabled to quickly identify individuals suspected of criminal
activities.
Ticketing
Mr. Speaker, there are many minor offences for which the police continue to make arrests
of citizens. It is now time for the government to seriously consider categorizing all minor
offences as ticketable offences, similar to traffic violations. For these offences, the police
could be authorized to issue the offender with a ticket which stipulates a fine or the option
of appearing in Court. Arrests should only become necessary where offenders fail to satisfy
the police about their identity. This can become a reality once th the Island-wide
Registration and Identification System
(IRIS)
is put in place.
Police Station Court
Mr. Speaker, citizens in rural communities continue to be denied easy access to justice, due
to the closure of many rural Court Houses. Whenever citizens are denied easy access to
justice in the Courts, there is sometimes the temptation to exact vigilante justice or turn to
dons to avenge wrongs. This is a major problem with justice in Jamaica and one which can
easily be corrected by establishing Courts in select stations. It may not be necessary for
these courts to sit every day, but it is important that citizens are able to access courts easily
and to regularly observe justice being dispensed within their communities in a manner
consistent with the Rule of Law.