Chuck urges new JPs to get 'well-informed' to help combat misinformation

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has urged newly commissioned justices of the peace )JPs) in Portland to become well-informed to avoid misinforming members of the public.

“The last thing I want you to do is to misinform people. So when you don’t know… you don’t know. But, at the very minimum, you must know how to know. In other words, you must know what to tell people about how they can get their information,” the minister said at the commissioning of 28 new JPs for Portland on Thursday. The parish total now stands at 308.

“You must get as well-informed as possible… and you’re not going to get well informed by just sitting and doing nothing. Leaders are readers. Get as much information as possible, so you're a fountain of information,” he added.

Chuck told the JPs that, at a minimum, they should also be able to guide people on how to access information.

He stated that the ministry is “doing everything possible” to empower JPs with information, such as by hosting seminars and webinars.

Chuck further reminded the newly commissioned JPs that the role requires decency, civility, integrity and character, while encouraging them to pursue the best version of themselves.

In his remarks, Custos Rotulorum for Portland, Lincoln Thaxter, congratulated the new JPs “for having stayed the course, gone through the requisite training, and have now rolled up their sleeves and are ready to work in the Portland Justices of the Peace Association”.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Romeo Henry, representing Commanding Officer of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Portland Division, Superintendent Ainsley McCarthy, highlighted the Justices’ role in providing assistance to the police.

“You are not going to be enforcers of law, but you are going to be that voice of reasoning in your communities. You know the people, you can discern the people that are around you, those who are keener to commit crime and those persons who are involved in crime elsewhere. This is information that the police really need,” DSP Henry said.

The office of Justice of the Peace originated in England in 1361. It is entrusted to a person of unquestionable integrity, dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of individuals.

Some of the roles of a JP include attesting and authenticating documents under the official seal; performing judicial functions in certain courts; attending the Children’s Court and Drug Court; considering applications for bail; and providing counsel and advice, among other duties.

- JIS News

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