The Guyana-based Canadian-funded Justice Education Society (JES) project was praised for its contribution to the criminal justice system and Indigenous communities in Guyana. Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack expressed delight at the impact of the project during the closing ceremony recently, marking the project’s achievements over the past ten years since JES commenced its operations. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Home of Affairs and the Global Affairs Department of the Government of Canada for the start-up of JES in 2022. The DPP recalled her first meeting with the officials from JES and highlighted the need for training for all parties within the criminal justice system, including investigators, prosecutors and the judiciary.

“When only one of these parties is trained, then we have difficulty with the others. I know that they would have found it strange that my request and recommendations were never only for the prosecutions…but prosecutions won’t be successful without good investigations and a judiciary that understands the law…I have seen improvements in the systems in the GPF (Guyana Police Force), including the recording of caution statements, the storage of exhibits, the Investigation Planning and Supervisory Forms, and the conduct of the investigations gained through the training.” In more tangible ways, JES has provided the GPF with storage containers to store exhibits; without these, the DPP noted that the prosecution would not have the exhibits in court because they could not be found by the Police or were damaged. She expressed her profound gratitude to JES for introducing and providing the recording equipment for taking caution statements.

“These two have made drastic improvements in the investigations and prosecutions of criminal charges.” In addition to the equipment, JES also provided the GPF and the Ministry of Health with sexual assault evidence collection kits called “rape kits”. Touching directly on the benefits to the judiciary, the DPP recalled the role played by former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Madam Justice Yonette Cummings, who was instrumental in implementing virtual courts to ensure speedier court hearings in the hinterland communities. Prior to this, the hinterland courts sat once or twice per month.