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By Tusika MartinGuyana needs a holistic approach to enhance its criminal justice system. If the quality of investigation and the decision to prosecute are right, then the number of cases that are before the courts will be significantly reduced.This is according to Robert Davies, a private consultant funded by the Inter-American Development bank, and currently attached to the Director of Public Prosecutions to assist the chambers in enhancing and strengthening its capabilities.Speaking with Kaieteur News during a one-day training programme for prosecutors on Thursday, Davies said that it must be a concern to Guyanese that there are people in prisons, which are in poor condition, who maybe innocent but have a slow process of trial keeping them there.He noted that the work he is doing with the DPP chambers will seek to create a system of a faster rate of completion of these backlog cases.“We know that the courts are facing a huge backlog of cases; we know that there are many prisoners in for a long period of time who haven’t even gone through a preliminary inquiry, or who haven’t even been tried.”Within the next few weeks, he said, a plan will be formulated that will see changes that is needed to enhance the DPP chambers.This plan, Davies added, will eventually go to the government, since they want to see an independent prosecuting system.“We are here to try and develop a strategic plan to take stock of where they are, see where they want to get to, and try to develop a plan that would enable them to get where they want to be .We have done a lot of analysis and spoke to a lot of people,” the consultant said.This programme is being funded by the International American Development Bank, under the Guyana’s Modernisation of Justice Administration Programme.One of the critical things, he noted, is how well the donor agencies actually develop plans, which work together to address the real problems facing Guyana.Too many projects are on their own, and are not brought together in a holistic way to tackle the real problem, Mr Davies said.“Our experience around the world has shown, that unless the donor countries are working in the same direction , the aid falls.”Davies noted that there are great gaps in the way that crimes are investigated and prosecuted in Guyana.This face,Cheap Baseball Jerseys, he said, is well known to the DPP chambers and he is working with them to make the system more effective. “Just as though guilty people are being freed, I suspect innocent people are being held in custody when they shouldn’t be. There is no doubt that there is a real need to look at the quality of investigation,Cheap Jerseys From China, and the skills that police officers have and the quality of supervision,” Davies said.Local prosecutors and police investigators were on Thursday brought together with the main players in the local justice system, in an effort to close the gaps in prosecution that usually give the defense ammunition to obtain acquittals. This one-day programme was a pilot training course developed by the administration under the Guyana’s Modernisation of Justice Administration Programme.It was intended to assess and enhance prosecutors’ skill in evaluating the quality of a police investigation,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, and providing sound investigative advice to the police. The programme was also aimed at helping prosecutors prepare cases effectively for presentation at Preliminary Inquiries and trials in ensuring a high probably of success. The programme brought together for the first time, police prosecutors and senior police officers, the entire legal staff of the DPP Chambers, former high ranking prosecutors and others, so that different perspectives,Cheap NFL Jerseys, knowledge,NFL Jerseys From China, experiences and insights can be shared through frank and open discussions.The participants will help Guyana’s Modernisation of Justice Administration Programme, to identify ways in which prosecutors and police,cheap nfl jerseys elite, working together with the judiciary,Wholesale Jerseys Chinese, magistracy, and the public, can improve the likelihood that people who have committed serious crimes will be brought to justice. |
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