DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, has praised the Guyana-based, Canadian-funded Justice Education Society (JES) Project for the significant contributions it has made to the criminal justice system and to Indigenous communities across Guyana over the past several years.
Delivering remarks at a closing ceremony hosted by JES on Thursday, at the Police Officers’ Annex, the DPP expressed her delight at the improvements she has observed since the project began its operations five to ten years ago.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Global Affairs Department of the Government of Canada for the establishment of JES in 2022.
Recalling her initial engagement with JES officials during a needs assessment, the DPP said she had insisted that training be extended to all parties within the criminal justice system — investigators, prosecutors and the judiciary alike.
“When only one of these parties is trained then we have difficulty with the others,” she said, noting that prosecutions cannot succeed without sound investigations and a judiciary well-versed in the law.
She pointed to visible improvements within the Guyana Police Force, including the recording of caution statements, the storage of exhibits, the use of Investigation Planning and Supervisory Forms, and the overall conduct of investigations.
Among the project’s tangible contributions, JES provided the Guyana Police Force with storage containers for exhibits, which the DPP said were essential, as previously exhibits could not always be located or were damaged, undermining prosecutions.
She also expressed gratitude for recording equipment supplied by JES for the taking of caution statements, describing the two interventions as having brought about drastic improvements in criminal investigations and prosecutions.
The project further supplied the Police Force and the Ministry of Health with Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits, commonly known as rape kits.
On the judiciary’s side, the DPP credited former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Madam Justice Yonette Cummings, for her role in implementing virtual courts, which enabled speedier hearings in hinterland communities that previously held court sittings only once or twice per month.
Over the past five years, JES has also directed considerable attention toward improving justice outcomes in Indigenous communities, particularly in Regions One and Nine, through Community Outreach Meetings in which the DPP’s Office participated.
As a result, the DPP noted improvements in police responses to reports of crime in these communities, along with a marked increase in the number of crimes being reported.
“There are more reports than there used to be before the training started,” she said, adding that these were tangible improvements she was proud to have witnessed.
In keeping with the project’s mandate of “Strengthening Justice for Women, Girls and Indigenous People in Guyana,” police ranks, teachers and health workers in Indigenous communities received training in cultural sensitivity.
JES Country Representative, Lisa Thompson, explained that the project’s focus was on institutionalising a trauma-informed, gender- and culturally-sensitive approach to justice for Indigenous peoples, while strengthening their understanding of laws related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Through partnerships with the Santa Rosa community in Sub-Region One, the Macushi Research Unit at Bina Hill in the North Rupununi, and the Wapichan Wiizi Women’s Movement in the South Rupununi, more than 60 public education and information audio and video messages addressing SGBV were developed in Wapichan, Macushi and English.
These materials continue to be used by village councils, civil society organisations and community advocates.
Head of Development Cooperation at the Canadian Embassy, Adam Loyer, noted that since JES was implemented in 2022, the Canadian government has been pleased to contribute to advancing knowledge at both the institutional and community levels in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence in Guyana.
In total, JES has trained more than 2,000 persons at the community and institutional levels, including 23 judges, 20 magistrates, 70 police prosecutors and state counsel, and 550 police officers.
At the community level, the project collaborated with 13 village councils and over 75 Indigenous communities across Regions One and Nine.
