…says Govt working to strengthen State’s investigative, forensic capacities
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, has cautioned 27 Police ranks and two officers from the Government Analyst-Food & Drug Department, who recently graduated from the first-ever Elementary Prosecutors’ Course, against prioritising securing convictions over advancing justice and ensuring fair trials.
He issued the caution while delivering the feature address at a graduation ceremony held for the ranks at Nations University’s campus.
The rigorous six-month course, a collaborative effort between the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and Nations University, was attended by persons holding various ranks, from Assistant Superintendent to Constable. It is aimed at equipping ranks with the necessary procedural and substantive laws related to criminal prosecutions. The purpose and objective of this training is to improve the efficiency of Police ranks in executing their prosecutorial duties.
Emphasising that justice is not a one-way street, Legal Affairs Minister Nandlall said, “Sometimes we feel that only the accused have rights, or only the defendant has rights; that is not true, that is not the law.” According to him, the State and victims of crimes also have an interest in every case.
“The public has an interest in every case. And those interests must be balanced before there can be justice in accordance with the law. As prosecutors, you are ministers of justice. You are not to be concerned about winning, your job is to present the evidence available… [If] you don’t have the evidence, then you don’t have the ability; you are not to fabricate and concoct. You have a serious responsibility as a minister of justice,” the senior counsel advised the graduates.
As Summary Court Prosecutors, the Policemen and women will be assigned to prosecute matters at the various Magistrates’ Courts where most of the criminal cases are disposed of. In congratulating the graduates on their remarkable achievement, the Attorney General told them that they have chosen a “sound beginning” because they have decided to become part of their country’s legal system — the machinery which administers and enforces the rule of law.
Against this backdrop, he reminded them that the rule of law is the foundation upon which modern society rests, and it is vital to the economic, social, commercial, transformational and other changes taking place in Guyana. “But none of it is possible, and will be possible, unless we have law and order prevailing in this society, unless the rule of law is respected, and unless we have a legal system that delivers justice to our people in accordance with law.”
Strengthen
He assured the law enforcement officers that the Government is working to improve the State’s investigative and forensic capacities by securing personnel in the areas of crime scene investigation, ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting expertise, and other forensic facts. These, he noted, are just a fraction of what is planned to strengthen the country’s investigative capacity.
According to the Senior Counsel, one has to presume that the Police and legal institutions are acting upon evidence-based on legal principles. He, therefore, pointed out that “we must allow the systems to work. That is what justice is. Justice is not dependent upon one’s opinion.”
The AG has, accordingly, encouraged the Police ranks to discharge their duties in a manner that would make the public confident that the justice system would protect their rights.
While the Government desires to have a lawyer prosecute cases in the lower courts, Nandlall admitted, this ideal is far from reality; so, in the meanwhile, initiatives like this will be used. He, nevertheless, said the programme offered through Nations University is “far more superior” to the prosecutors’ training programme run by the Police Force.
The programme is internationally recognised, as the course content, assessment, and grading process were vetted by ABMA Education — an awarding organisation in the United Kingdom offering QFQUAL Regulated and professional qualifications in the UK and internationally.
It is being accepted by the University of London (UoL) as an entry requirement into its Bachelor of Laws programme, which is being offered by Nations University.
Last October, the Police Force and Nations University signed the first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to undertake prosecutorial training for Police ranks.
