radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Deadbeat dads who are refusing to pay maintenance are getting away scot-free as dozens of warrants emailed to police by the Family Court and the Magistrates Court at Princes Town are backing up since late last year.
Court and Information Manager at the Judiciary Carl Francis confirmed to Guardian Media that summons and warrants were no longer being printed and given to the police to be executed.
Rather, all warrants and summons were being sent electronically at the various stations.
Asked whether there had been a change in policy and what could be done to assist stations that had no printing resources, Francis said: “Please be informed that the Judiciary now sends out all documents electronically and has advised all recipients of this. There is no backup of summons at the courts.”
However, a source confirmed the backup existed in the Princes Town Police Station as officers have not been able to print the documents and expedite them. Despite this new stipulation, hard copies of warrants are still being issued at the San Fernando and Siparia Magistrates Courts.
Since the start of the year, several women awaiting maintenance settlements from their ex-husbands have been reaching out to Guardian Media saying the warrants for maintenance were on hold because the TTPS had not been printing warrants because they had no resources to print.
One single mother, Natalie Samuel, said her ex-husband had not been paying maintenance for years so in October she applied to the court for a warrant to obtain the outstanding amounts. Three months later, she is being told that no warrant can be issued unless the Judiciary prints it and gives it to the police for execution.
Samuel said this was unacceptable as she needed the money to pay for food and rent.
“This process is ridiculous and it is unfair to us parents. Make the resources available for the police to print the warrant and expedite it. The process to get the warrant is already lengthy and now we have to wait for the warrant to be printed for it to be expedited. It is not fair for the children to be waiting. Police should print and do what has to be done,” Samuel said.
She added that under former Commissioner Gary Griffith, this was not happening.
“This is a new issue. Things used to flow a lot easier in the past. Now all of a sudden this is the situation. They have to do better than this and come up with a solution. Either revert to a system where they print the warrants and give them to the police or provide the police with printing resources so that they could print and expedite these warrants.
Guardian Media reached out to Senior Supt Winchester last week who said she was not aware of any backup of warrants at San Fernando noting that warrants were still being printed by the court and given to officers. She said there was no backup at Princes Town but Guardian Media was reliably informed that this is not the case. There was also confirmation that printing of warrants and summonses was also being done at the Siparia Court.
When contacted ACP South Beverly Rodriguez told Guardian Media that she was in a meeting but will investigate.
“The police are not responsible for printing or writing warrants and summonses. That is the work of the court. The court has to make that arrangement and have it reach the police. When the warrant and summons reach the police, then we have access and we will be employed to execute and serve those warrants and summonses,” ACP Rodriguez said.
She noted that she has never had any conversation about the electronic issuing of warrants.
“Anytime we get warrants and summonses, we will execute and serve. I am not aware they are being sent electronically. I will have to check this,” ACP Rodriguez said.
Efforts to contact Commissioner McDonald Jacob for comment proved futile.
