Witness Care Project

Witness Care Project

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About

In 2019, the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social & Economic Studies (SALISES) was approached by the Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (JUST) project to assist with the organisation and hosting of Jamaica’s first Witness Care Conference. The Conference was held on the 20th of July 2019 at the Faculty of Law, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus under the patronage of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP). It included a public forum held on July 19th under the heading “Comparative Perspectives on Witness Care: Challenges, Best Practices, and Lessons Learnt”. A panel presentation featuring judicial and prosecutorial witness care experts from Canada and the Caribbean at the forum provided an opportunity for the engagement of a wide cross-section of stakeholders.

The second half of the Conference, which was held on July 20th, was positioned as a Practitioner’s Workshop, which focused on identifying and defining clear methodologies and strategies to improve Witness Care in Jamaica. Overall, the event provided local and international experts, policy makers, practitioners and advocates a unique opportunity to reflect on and identify strategies for improving the treatment of witnesses and other court users in Jamaica. The resources made available through this platform are therefore the results of insights and analyses presented at the Conference and the follow-up Witness Care Strategic Planning E-Workshop hosted by SALISES Mona via Zoom on June 9 & 10, 2020. The result of the E-Workshop was an Integrated Strategic Plan for coordinated national action on improving the treatment of victims and other witnesses in the justice system. The aims of the E-Workshop were to:

Identify and refine practical approaches to improving citizen access to and experiences of the justice system and how such approaches can be implemented in an integrated manner;
Support the design, rationalisation and ownership of an Integrated Strategic Plan informed by stakeholder engagement and centred on identifying short- and longer-term integrated care opportunities;
Bring together key stakeholders, their combined mandates and resources, around an overarching framework of agreed witness care priorities and protocols;
Define inter-agency mechanisms for improved witness safety, particularly in high profile cases.

Both milestone events would not have been possible without the kind support of Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). GAC together with the Ministry of Justice and the UNDP have partnered with the Government of Jamaica, academia and civil society to advance plans of action and identified solutions for the care of witnesses in the Jamaican justice system through the JUST project. The JUST project was implemented by the Government of Jamaica (Ministry of Justice with the Justice Reform Implementation Unit (JRIU) with support from Canada’s Department of Justice (Justice Canada) and the UNDP.

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Resources

Resources

The resources made available here are part of the “Effectively Caring for Witnesses Social Media Campaign” which seeks to build on the gains made from the 2019 Witness Care Conference. The Campaign seeks to advance the first two objectives of the Conference which were to 1) build awareness of witness care best practices and initiatives; and 2) promote ideas and innovations designed to enhance victim support and witness care services.

Directory

Directory

Directory of Witness Care
Service Provider

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What is witness care?

Answer: Witness Care refers to interventions that seek to address the immediate needs of witnesses who have been identified as persons requiring special consideration during their contact with the criminal justice process. These interventions should not be confused with witness protection which are initiatives that tend to only focus on the physical security of witnesses and could include some elements of care or exclude it altogether (see Information Sheet in the Resource section).

Who is a witness?

Answer: You are a witness if you have given or are obliged to give or have agreed to give a statement or evidence or both in: (i) civil proceedings, (ii) a criminal trial (iii) in relation to a crime that has been or based on reasonable grounds is about to be committed or (iv) to an approved authority in relation to a crime that has been or based on reasonable grounds is about to be committed (see Information Sheet in the Resource section).

What is the JUST project?

Answer: The Government of Canada provided assistance to the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) to support justice sector reforms, through a $19.8 million initiative called the “Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (JUST)” project. The project was implemented by the Government of Jamaica (Ministry of Justice with the Justice Reform Implementation Unit (JRIU) with support from Canada’s Department of Justice (Justice Canada) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Non-state implementing partners were integrated into the structure of the JUST in the 2018/19 fiscal year. The JUST can be divided into three components, as follows: a) Technical-Legal Assistance Component: This component involves deployment of Canadian technical experts and Justice Canada personnel to Jamaica, to work with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Courts to address a wide range of matters aimed, at improving the capacity of core justice sector institutions to manage and implement their core business. b) Institutional Strengthening Component: This component involves strengthening the technical and results-based management capacity of the Ministry of Justice of Jamaica, primarily through the establishment of the Justice Reform Implementation Unit (JRIU). c) Social Order Component: This component focuses on initiatives aimed at improving the capacity of women and men and girls and boys to equitably access gender-sensitive justice information, advice and services, as well as improving the capacity of citizens, civil society representatives (including women’s rights organisations) and legal professionals to participate in the justice reform process. Under the Social Order Component of the JUST, activities are designed to support increased public education, improved customer service and strengthened networks and infrastructure to support access to justice among diverse target groups. Enhanced witness care, particularly in relation to children and vulnerable witnesses, were identified as a critical component of this process.

My child is to give testimony in court, whose responsibility it is to orient him/her?

Answer: According to Section 36 (3) of the Child Justice Guidelines (2013), it is the responsibility of the prosecutor to contact the Victim Support [Division] (VSD) for an orientation session to be scheduled with a child victim/witness. The prosecutor should do this at least 30 days before the trail or hearing. The VSU and the prosecutor should be sensitive to the child’s schedule (especially where the child is in school) and set the orientation for a time which is convenient and least disruptive to the child’s schedule.

What services are available to witnesses?

Answer: Please see Directory of Witness Care Service Providers

Why is my organisation not included in the Directory of Witness Care Service Providers?

Answer: The Directory is not exhaustive and will be updated annually. If you provide us with the details of your organisation and services offered, we can include this information during next update.

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Witness Care Project

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Testimonials

Rick Harris - Executive Director of the Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA) and former SALISES student

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Witness Care Project

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Rick Harris - Executive Director of the Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA) and former SALISES student