Men pressuring courts with violence, Chuck laments

Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck has decried the country’s propensity for violence especially among young men, saying it has been putting too much pressure on the judicial system.

“As a nation, we have a propensity to resolve disputes with violence; this has added to the burden on the courts,” he told the House of Representatives on Tuesday, October 9.

Chuck noted figures from the Chief Justice’s Statistics Reports for the Parish Courts of Jamaica for the period January to June 2018.

“The three most frequent criminal charges filed in the parish court over the period on the report were Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm, Unlawful Wounding and Threats,” he further said.

“Our males within a certain age group are the main offenders. Eighty-two percent of the matters in the courts were committed by males, with the dominant age group of offenders being young men between 20 and 26 and also in the 27 to 36 age group.”

The minister reported that an average of 2,451 new criminal cases are filed across all parishes on a monthly basis, with a total of 14,824 new criminal cases entering the Parish Courts for the first six months of the year.

Chuck said the Corporate Area, St James and St Catherine Parish Courts had the largest number of new cases, based on the report. The Hanover, St Mary, and St Thomas Parish Courts had the smallest number.

WE also do obituaries, advertisement, and special coverage of funerals, birthday parties, weddings, and other milestones. Call or WhatsApp us at 876-305-4574 or emaail us at jamaicabeaconnews@gmail.com.