Chairman Byron outlines Benefits of Criminal Justice Strategic Board

(ZIZ News) – Attorney General, the Hon. Vincent Byron says the recently launched Criminal Justice Strategic Board will, in time, address the shortcomings in the delivery of justice in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Minister Byron, who also serves as its Chairman, said the board will address the number of individuals on remand of at Her Majesty’s Prison noting that “the prison has some sixty people on remand.”

“That’s too many people being on remand. How can we improve that to reduce that number significantly, that people can have access to justice and go before the court and their matter be dispensed with in a timely matter and in reasonable time. How long does a matter take to be tried before you are summoned and so forth? So there are a number of different ways in which the board can measure and bring these matters under control,” the Minister stated.

Speaking on Wednesday’s edition of “Working for You”, Byron said what makes the Criminal Justice Strategic Board unique is that it consolidates all agencies involved in the Criminal Justice System noting that there are whole gamut of different departments and agencies that are involved in crime and dealing with criminal justice.”

“What we have done with the Criminal Justice Strategic Board is to bring all of these agencies together. We expect that in that way, working together rather than working with everybody doing their own thing, now we can have as it was a network interlinked, supporting each other and what happens with the police can be supported by the DPP’s office and the prisons,” Byron said, noting that these new measures will work for the benefit of the society at large.”

The Criminal Justice Strategic Board was launched on Wednesday, November 11th and consists of 14 other members from both St. Kitts and Nevis.