28 new Justices of the Peace for Trelawny were sworn in last week Thursday. The swearing in ceremony took place at the Glistening Waters Restaurant in Rock.
This batch of Justices of the Peace was the first to be sworn in by incumbent Custos of Trelawny, Paul Muschett, since he was began his tenure in 2010. This brings the number of JPs in the parish to approximately 200. Thirty more are expected to be added to that batch by the end of the year.
Tell that number to the “man-in-the-street” and he may tell you that you are lying. So many times I see people asking around for a JP. The people do not know them enough. The title of JP is title of service, but too many take it as a status symbol. Additionally, the government does not do enough to make sure the justices are known.
There is an old list on the Ministry of Justice’s website that has not been updated in years. you may take a look at the list of Justices of the Peace for Trelawny, but be warned: the list is old. There are several dead people on the list. Some have been dead for over a decade!
Getting back to the point that Justices of the Peace are there to serve, here is an excerpt from the Jamaica Observer:
Deputy President of the Trelawny Lay Magistrates Association Kenneth ‘Senator’ Grant has warned newly appointed justices of the peace not be cocky when they are requested to provide the service they volunteered to undertake.
“When people need your services and seek your advice on matters, don’t run them from your gate. Help them!” the senior JP advised.
“Don’t just go around and boast and tell people that you are a justice of the peace, and everything you sign, even your cheque leaves, you put JP as your initials,” he added.
Meanwhile, Custos of Trelawny Paul Muschett also called on the newly installed JPs to avail themselves to community members, especially the youths.
“Please do not closet yourselves in your homes, but ensure that you become known in your communities and the wider parish,” Muschett implored.
“It will be especially important now to seek out young persons and ensure that you are known to them as many feel that they are outside of the system. They need to feel comfortable in you and interacting with you on many levels. In this way you will have better community relations and fewer incidents of violence in the community,” he added.
In the meantime, Grant cautioned that he would not hesitate to recommend the decommissioning of JPs who fail to provide exemplary service.
From: The Jamaica Observer
I hope that this batch of Justices will put service to Trelawny and its people, first. In addition, I will be trying to get an updated list of Justices of the Peace for Trelawny to place on this website, to help those seeking a JP.
