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A significant legal controversy has emerged in Jamaica’s justice system as Justice Minister Delroy Chuck revealed that certain judicial practices are fundamentally undermining the nation’s Child Diversion Programme. During a Tuesday session of the joint select committee reviewing the Child Diversion Act, Minister Chuck exposed how some judges require children to plead guilty before granting them access to the rehabilitation program—a requirement that directly contradicts the initiative’s foundational purpose of keeping minors from acquiring permanent criminal records.

The programme, established under the 2018 Child Diversion Act and implemented in 2020, was specifically designed to steer young offenders away from traditional criminal prosecution through structured rehabilitation instead of formal conviction. However, Ministry of Justice officials testified that confusing legislative language has created a serious ethical dilemma where children may be acquiring convictions through a process intended to prevent them.

Minister Chuck, who chairs the parliamentary committee, emphasized that the courts’ current approach in some cases represents a complete inversion of the programme’s original intent. “The court literally, in some cases, asks the child, ‘Did you do it? And if you did it, then you plead guilty.’ Now, that is not the way it should be,” Chuck stated, clarifying that diversion should occur before any plea is entered.

Julia Moncrieffe-Wiggan, Director for Public Law, Restorative and Preventative Justice at the Ministry of Justice, identified Section 33(2) of the Act as particularly problematic. She explained that the provision’s wording regarding ‘acceptance of responsibility’ has been misinterpreted by some judges as requiring a formal guilty plea, creating unintended compulsion for children to admit guilt.

The committee also examined concerns about voluntary participation, noting that the legislation contains conflicting language regarding whether a child’s consent is necessary for programme enrollment. Moncrieffe-Wiggan highlighted the phrase ‘required to participate’ as creating ambiguity about the voluntary nature of the rehabilitation process.

Despite these challenges, the programme has demonstrated promising results. Official statistics presented to the committee revealed that approximately 2,810 cases were referred to the programme between March 2020 and January 2026, with 1,143 children successfully completing rehabilitation without criminal convictions.

The Justice Ministry officials recommended that lawmakers consider making diversion the default option for eligible child offenders and require courts to formally justify any decision not to refer a child to the programme. Minister Chuck agreed that urgent legislative clarification is needed to ensure the programme fulfills its original rehabilitative purpose without exposing children to unintended legal consequences.

FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has responded to growing public frustration over dangling cables remaining on utility poles following Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, clarifying that electrical restoration takes precedence over immediate aesthetic concerns.

Corporate Communications Director Winsome Callum explained the company’s structured recovery approach involves distinct phases. The initial critical phase focuses exclusively on re-energizing communities and ensuring public safety, while comprehensive cable removal constitutes a secondary clean-up operation scheduled after power normalization.

“Our absolute priority remains restoring electricity to affected customers,” Callum stated. “These dangling cables will definitely be removed during the second wave—this isn’t a permanent situation. We deploy all available resources initially for power restoration, followed by systematic clean-up operations.”

The communications director emphasized safety protocols, noting all hanging cables have been de-energized and repositioned where possible to eliminate hazards during continuing restoration efforts.

Complicating the clean-up process, many suspended cables belong not to JPS but to telecommunications providers operating under joint pole agreements. Callum clarified regulatory constraints prevent unilateral removal of partner companies’ infrastructure without coordinated planning.

“We maintain collaborative relationships with partner utilities and coordinate removals through mutual communication,” Callum explained. “We’re not authorized to independently remove other providers’ installations.”

While major cable companies remained unavailable for comment, an anonymous community cable operator revealed smaller providers received explicit timelines from JPS regarding clean-up schedules in specific regions. The operator confirmed compliance with directives to remove equipment preemptively to avoid irreversible removal by JPS crews during pole maintenance operations.

The operator suggested remaining dangling cables likely belong to larger telecommunications providers who may not have adhered to the coordinated removal schedule, particularly evident in areas like Falmouth where loose wires remain visibly suspended from utility poles.

A powerful coalition of Jamaican government officials is spearheading a transformative movement to abolish the institutionalization of children within the nation’s justice and welfare systems. Leading this charge, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck delivered an urgent appeal before a Parliamentary Joint Select Committee, asserting that placing children in state-run or private care facilities sets them on an irreversible path toward criminal recidivism.

Minister Chuck, who chairs the committee reviewing the 2018 Child Diversion Act, presented compelling testimony that institutional environments cultivate harmful habits rather than provide rehabilitation. “Once they’re put into institutions, it’s downhill from there,” Chuck emphasized, noting that Jamaica’s prisons are filled with recidivists who began their journey through state care facilities.

The Minister’s position received robust support from multiple government sectors. Juliet Cuthbert Flynn, State Minister for National Security and Peace, challenged the classification of children as “uncontrollable” and condemned housing them alongside convicted offenders. She advocated instead for comprehensive mentoring programs, highlighting how unresolved trauma and unexplained anger frequently manifest in problematic behaviors that institutions fail to address.

Adding legal weight to the argument, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, State Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, drew from personal experience growing up with a mother who served as a children’s officer. She delivered a forceful condemnation of current practices, stating that children’s homes “are destroying rather than helping our children” and shared a troubling account of a Brazilian child detained under questionable circumstances.

The officials proposed a fundamental reallocation of resources, suggesting that funds currently directed toward institutional care should be diverted to the Child Diversion Unit within the Justice Ministry. This unit, which employs personalized mentoring approaches, has demonstrated significantly better outcomes in rehabilitating youth and reintegrating them into society as productive citizens.

KINGSTON, Jamaica—The Jamaican government is preparing to implement substantially increased penalties for environmental violations as part of a comprehensive crackdown on public disorder. Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, has announced forthcoming legislative amendments to the Litter Act that will introduce more severe financial consequences for those polluting public spaces.

Minister McKenzie revealed that the strengthened legislation is expected to be presented and ratified during the upcoming legislative session, potentially by mid-year. “You’re going to be seeing a difference in terms of how public order on our streets is executed,” McKenzie stated, indicating a significant shift in enforcement strategies.

Beyond mere legislative changes, the minister emphasized the necessity for a fundamental transformation in public attitudes toward environmental stewardship. “The truth is, you could put all the statutes on the books. If the Jamaican people do not have a change of mind, then it is not going to work,” he cautioned, highlighting that legal measures alone cannot resolve the nation’s cleanliness challenges.

The proposed amendments will specifically target two primary areas of concern: littering in public areas and the unauthorized commercial use of sidewalks and roadways. Minister McKenzie expressed particular concern about garage operators and used-car dealers who persistently occupy public thoroughfares, often reducing road access to single lanes and creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians and motorists alike.

“There is a greater challenge that we face,” McKenzie noted, referencing his discussions with municipal corporations nationwide regarding the systematic takeover of public infrastructure by commercial entities. The minister issued a stern warning that the government would no longer tolerate such flagrant violations of public space regulations.

McKenzie’s comments signal a determined effort to enhance urban cleanliness and traffic flow through both punitive measures and public awareness campaigns, representing one of the most significant attempts in recent years to address Jamaica’s public space management challenges.