Public Defender probing operation of Jamaica's Sex Offender Registry

The Office of the Public Defender has disclosed that it has initiated a wide-ranging investigation into the operation and effectiveness of Jamaica’s Sex Offender Registry.

The office says its investigation follows growing public concern about the Registry’s transparency, accessibility, and ability to safeguard vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.

Access to the Registry is currently limited to law enforcement, designated employers, and persons with a proven “legitimate interest”. However, the public defender says recent tragic incidents have prompted renewed scrutiny of whether such restrictions are achieving the Registry’s intended purpose.

“The Office of the Public Defender has a duty to ensure that laws and public systems function as intended, without infringing on the constitutional rights of Jamaican citizens,” said Public Defender Carolyn Reid-Cameron in a media release on Monday. “This is not just a review of procedures—it is a holistic examination of how public safety tools must align with our Constitution.”

The Office of the Public Defender says its investigation will focus on three core areas:

· Statutory Compliance – Whether the Registry has been implemented in accordance with the Sexual Offences Act, including resource allocation and procedural adherence.

· Operational Effectiveness – Whether the Registry’s access and usage protocols are successfully protecting children and other at-risk groups.

· Constitutional Balance – Whether the Registry strikes an appropriate balance between individual privacy rights and the public’s right to safety, in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

It says the probe will review documents from the Department of Correctional Services and Ministry of Justice; analyse statistical data on the Registry’s operation since its implementation in 2011; and engage stakeholders from law enforcement, child protection, and human rights sectors.

The office will also conduct comparative analysis with similar registries in other jurisdictions and undertake a constitutional review of the current framework

It says its investigation has started and will, culminate in a final report that will be tabled in Parliament and made available to the public.

It adds that the Commissioner of Corrections and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice have been formally notified and are expected to support the inquiry.

Almost nine out of 10 Jamaicans believe the Sex Offender Registry should be made public, based on the findings of the latest RJRGLEANER-commissioned polls.

The survey, which was conducted between May 18 and June 7 among 1,033 respondents 18 years old and over, showed that 84.6 per cent of all respondents answered yes when asked if the Registry should be made public.

In May, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness declared that he would be pushing for urgent reforms to the Sexual Offences Act, following the tragic murder and alleged rape of nine-year-old Kelsey Cassidy Ferrigon, whose body was found stuffed in a barrel at her home.

Speaking amid the national outrage that erupted after news of the murder, the prime minister stressed the importance of arming the public with critical information to protect themselves.

The person of interest in the case, Giovannie Ellis, was a repeat sexual offender. He was subsequently shot and killed by police on May 12.

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