Delroy Chuck Tells Trelawny JPs Integrity Must Come First at Commissioning

Nineteen more Justices of the Peace were commissioned in Trelawny on Friday, raising the parish's complement to 332.

Addressing the ceremony as keynote speaker, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck said JPs must continue to stand as people of integrity. He told the gathering that he has repeatedly refused to recommend people he does not know, even when they remind him that they vote for him.

He said, “As an MP, I have been asked many times for a recommendation and I told them, ‘No, I don't know you.’ And they said, ‘But I vote for you, Sir.’ I said no matter I don't know you and I've been told about so many of my parts it's not funny and you will be told about your parts too and you will get a lot of cut eyes but your integrity matters.”

Though he shared the remark in a light tone, Chuck made clear the issue is serious. He said saying you know someone when you do not calls a JP's integrity into question and breaches the oath of office. He urged JPs to be prepared to refuse such requests, noting that their role is volunteer service.

He said, “You have to say I don't know you. Do you know that other JP or a minister of religion or the sergeant of police go to them, but I cannot do it. It is in within your character that you must learn to say no. Remember this is volunteer service.”

Chuck also urged JPs to remain humble in office and in the way they carry out their duties. Holding up a print of a JP sticker, he said he does not support its use and noted that the Office of the Prime Minister's protocol office says the coat of arms should not be used without permission.

He said, “This is what people have sometimes put in their car. I don't support it and the protocol Office of the Prime Minister, you should not use the code of arms without permission because often times, police don't stop people when they see this. You have criminals now buying them and putting … these things on the dashboard and when the police stop them, they point to it and say you see why hoping that the police don't search them. So, I'm saying it is not necessary to profile justice of the peace.”

The minister also encouraged JPs to work through their parish associations so they can achieve more together. He said Trelawny previously had 313 JPs and that with the additional 19 the total should now be about 332. Chuck added that with 300 JPs working together they can make a yearly impact, and said parish associations receive $1 million annually so executives can help compensate JPs for extra work done beyond their normal duties.

The commissioning ceremony took place at Glistening Waters Hotel under the auspices of Custos Rotulorum Hugh Gentiles.