Chief Justice Ivor Archie is lamenting the trajectory of this country’s murder rate for 2023.
During his address at the opening of the 2023-2024 Law Term at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain yesterday, crime was the first among the major issues Ivor Archie mentioned.
“When we last convened in 2019, the murder toll was 520. This year, like 2022, we are on course to surpass 600. Understandably, there is much anxiety and, in that atmosphere, public calls for more accountability are not misplaced,” Archie said.
Later, in his address, the Chief Justice also said court data shows a worrying trend concerning domestic violence. He said trained staff to help with the prosecution side is sorely needed.
“There has been a significant increase in filings since the opening of the Family Court in Princes Town in July 2021. Whereas previous filings were in the range of 5,500 or so per year, in 2022/23 we had 9,051 new filings, of which 3,173 were domestic violence, 2,992 were divorces and 1766 were maintenance.
“Clearly, we have a social problem that needs attending to. We managed 7,446 determinations. While this is 6 per cent more than 2021/22 and 24 per cent more than the 10-year average, importantly for family matters, only 35 per cent, 30 per cent and 57 per cent of matters in Port-of-Spain, Tobago and Princes Town respectively, were less than six months old at the time of determination.
“We are not meeting our targets, especially for domestic violence, which may be life or death, and that is a human resource issue. We need more appropriately trained staff,” Archie said.
The CJ also spoke about crimes affecting children and revealed that a meeting will take place to discuss how survivors of trafficking and sexual offences are to be managed.
Using court data, Archie said, “Despite a 5% decrease in filings from 677 to 646, determinations have fallen 15% from 734 to 625. This is also a resource issue. This jurisdiction is also one where speed is more critical. Forty-one per cent of the matters determined were less than one year old at the time. It must be noted, though, that these matters stay with the court for some time as the court is required to monitor the children who have come through the court’s system.”
He said the Judiciary will also work on how it treats with young victims of human trafficking.
“There has been much discussion lately about children who are the victims of trafficking and not being brought before the court as required by law. The Judiciary will soon be inviting the relevant stakeholders, including Counter Trafficking Unit, Immigration and other units of National Security, Education and Child and Gender Affairs, to discuss multi agency protocols for managing children who are the subjects of trafficking and sexual offences,” Archie said.
Staying on the issue of crime, Archie announced the establishment of Virtual Access Centres where witnesses and litigants can attend court closer to home, with the assistance of marshals to ensure the integrity of proceedings.
He also spoke about the Securing Access Fairness and Efficiency (SAFE) project, which he described as a regional initiative aimed at ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice sector, through the development of resources to assist Caribbean judiciaries in serving the growing number of Litigants in Person (LIPs) more effectively.
“In this Judiciary, the SAFE Project will focus on interactions with all Litigants in Person from an institutional perspective, not just those involved in criminal matters.
“The project will deliver data gathered on stakeholder experiences and needs within the justice system, technological solutions, training resources and print and electronic communication tools for litigants in person, court customers and court staff,” Archie explained. (See CJ’s speech on page 11)
