SENIOR LAW OFFICIALS are encouraging members of the police force to use training to arrest the declining levels of court prosecution.
Both Assistant Commissioner Tyrone Griffith and Commandant of the Regional Police Training Centre (RPTC), Eucklyn Thompson, made this appeal recently at a joint regional graduation ceremony for participants in a court prosecutors’ course, as well as an enhanced constables development course, held at the RPTC, Seawell, Christ Church.
“On a daily basis, I see a myriad of problems associated both with investigations and prosecution. I hope these two groups can go back and make that change.
“It is also my view that when you reach the stage where all these people have come through training, they should be given the opportunity to go to court at lease twice or three times a month to sit in and prosecute matters,” Griffith said.
He added that bad performance by law officials in court only caused the public to lose faith in them and the legal system.
He also advised the regional lawmen not to be afraid to tell their superiors if something was not being done according to the training they had received.
“I hope that there would not be any inhibitions as it relates to turning a new leaf. I find often people get trained, but when they go back to their respective positions, that there is this fear of saying: ‘This is not the way it should be done’.
“Even if you say to your sergeant: ‘Sarge, my training has taught me that this is the way it should be done’. You don’t have to be condescending . . . . I hope all of you make that effort,” he said.
Thompson also extolled the virtues of proper training.
“It is my belief that these concerns can be rectified through . . . advanced training, reading and mentoring.
“What I am saying is that this course ought to serve as a catalyst for your [entry] into the world of prosecution,” he said.
However, Thompson said training alone would be insufficient on its own as it would not provide the participants with all the knowledge and skills they needed.
“It is now up to you to press on and make that extra effort to strengthen your newly acquired knowledge and skills for ultimate success, personal satisfaction and service excellence,” he said. (CA)
