NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Swift Justice is expected to make a return as early as the first quarter of next year, according to Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe who explained that he believes the program will help to address the ongoing issue with the backlog of court cases.
The backlog has been a mounting concern over the last several months, prompting officials to seek solutions to resolve the growing amount of court cases that officials said have bled over into other sectors, leading to additional issues with crime.
“It’s just common sense,” Munroe said.
“Justice must be delivered but justice must also happen on a timely basis, Swift Justice was just a moniker that the previous PLP administration used, clearly it was not liked by the administration that replaced us there wasn’t such a focus on it, we’re refocusing on it,” Munroe said.
Munroe said that the task force will be created during the first quarter of 2023 and that he will be meeting with the Chief Justice and Senior Justice in charge of the Criminal Division to find ways to tweak the Swift Justice Program so it would be more effective to fit the current demand.
“So little things like appointing acting justice from all of these people who want to be Kings Council may be an answer to adding, without appointing a substantive judge, a whole judge.
“So little practical things like that is what Swift Justice is meant for us to sit down and work out the mechanics of how you get more production out of the system.” Munroe stated.
Munroe pointed to the high number of murder victims also being targeted, a phenomenon he said has increased over the last 18 months.
He said: “Our view is that bail, yes it is something that you look at but you also have to look at the safety of the person being admitted the bail and of the person around the person being admitted to bail and that is what we are seeking now to urge on the courts.”
In 2014, the Swift Justice program was ushered in to assist with the backlog, Chief Justice Ian Winder said the program did help to a degree by expanding resources.
“There was a greater attention to the fact that you expanded the amount of judges that were available to hear the cases, considerably, they provided the resources for that it also would have included some digital court reporting that really didn’t come off the ground. It was to provide I think just really expanding the amount of (support).”
Winder added however that even with the added amount of judges, because of the manpower shortage at the courts, today the backlog still persists.
“I don’t know if that’s changed in a sense that we still have the same amount of all our criminal courts are occupied I think except for one and we hope that within the year another judge in the criminal division.
“But I accept that they, I wouldn’t say the word breakdown but certainly the manpower, […] there is a considerable manpower shortage,” Winder said, “We all have to take responsibility and we all have to improve what we live in.”
Former Attorney General and pioneer of the Swift Justice program, Allyson Maynard Gibson explained how the initiative worked in the past.
“Swift Justice was the means by which State actors involved in the criminal justice system communicated, cooperated and collaborated with each other so cases could be well prepared for trial, avoidable delays eliminated, witnesses and evidence be present at trial and technology be utilized to promote efficiency and confidence in the system,” she said.
In 2014 when the program was introduced officials sought it out as a means to chip away at the court case backlog, and Maynard-Gibson credits the success of the program, to its collaborative, community-centered nature.
“It was an example of people-centered justice. Accused people need to have fair trials within a reasonable period of time. Victims need closure. Society needs confidence in the Rule of Law.”
The former Attorney General explained that the Swift Justice program aided in dramatically cutting down the time allotted to present a Voluntary Bill of Inditement.
“As I recall, the time to present a VBI was reduced from 344 days to 77 days… Over 100 more trials of serious matters were held in 2015 than 2012. Conviction rates doubled. Serious matters, like murder, were tried in less than one year from arraignment. Yes, a trial of a properly prepared matter can take place within 1 year of arraignment,” she said.
