ATTORNEY General (AG) Basil Williams, on Wednesday, met with the consultants contracted under the Support for the Criminal Justice System Programme to discuss issues relating to overcrowding at the prisons. The consultants are John McKendrick and Keith Peterson.
According to a release from the AG Chambers, arising from the discussions was a pilot project to provide legal assistance to persons accused of minor, non-violent offences in pre-trial detention. The project also entails training activities which seek to strengthen legal representation skills among Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other aid providers.
The project may use supervised paralegals to provide support in various legal aid tasks in prisons and at police stations. Those identified are: seeking dismissal of charges, arranging diversion where appropriate, or arguing for bail and generally avoiding procedural delays.
In addition, the discussions included the implementation of a more proactive use of alternative sentencing by the criminal justice system. The Government may consider having prisoners deferred to a rehabilitation facility for specified treatment.
To this end, a study is being carried out on the appropriate treatments of substance abuse and mental health issues.
