Hanover Justice Centre moves closer to finish line

Western Bureau:

The Hanover Justice Centre, which is expected to significantly boost the delivery of justice in that parish, is said to be halfway to completion and, based on the projection of Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, it should become functional before the end of this year.

“I have not myself inspected it (the justice centre), but my understanding is that it is more than 50 per cent complete. We expect that it will be ready to be opened before the end of the year,” said Chuck, in noting that the facility, which is sited in Sandy Bay, will be completed within budget.

With Hanover being one of a few parishes without a standalone justice centre, a contract was signed between the Ministry of Justice and the Manchester-based C&D Construction and Engineering Limited of Mandeville in October 2024, for the construction of the facility at a cost of $173 million.

The centre, which is a 6,825 .7-square-foot facility, is sited on lands adjacent to the Sandy Bay Post Office, and is in proximity to the Sandy Bay Primary School. At the start of construction, the projection was for the facility to be completed in September 2025.

On completion, the facility is expected to offer a wide range of social justice services, inclusive of restorative justice, victim services, child diversion, mediation and legal aid. It will also feature an office for the custos of the parish, among other facilities.

At present, some of the services that the centre is poised to offer are being offered from rented premises in Lucea.

According to Chuck, there are justice centres in almost every parish, though some are sited in refurbished buildings and some are at rented premises.

FUTURE PLANS

“Many of them need to be expanded, and I think the one we are about to provide now is in Clarendon. We have re-equipped many of the old post offices into justice centres, and we have also outfitted several containers in some areas,” said Chuck. “All the services are being overwhelmed, so we need to expand some centres, which hopefully will be done over the next few years.”

Chuck further noted that several persons are now utilising the justice centres, especially against the background that the mediation, restorative justice and victim services programmes within them are being expanded.

“We (Government) think that it is very important that the people in the parishes, and right across Jamaica, should be able to access the justice services,” noted Chuck, who was in Lucea attending the ninth Legal Aid Council Justice Fair for persons with disabilities, which was staged in the Lucea Transport Centre and Bus Park.

Quizzed about the impact of the justice fairs that have been staged to date, Chuck said he was quite pleased with what has so far unfolded.

“They have really been good, the disabled community is extremely grateful and thankful to us for putting them on,” he said, noting that many persons within the disabled community never had the opportunity to access the services that are being offered at the fairs.

Bryan Miller