Chuck urges Jamaicans to become informers for justice

Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck is imploring Jamaicans to report criminal activities in their communities - calling those who do so, "heroes". He said that the task of reducing murders cannot be left solely to the police.

"The citizens of this country must all be prepared to be informers. I'm the biggest informer. All informers are heroes. When they see persons with guns or threatening violence, bring the police in it. Let us see if we can prevent a few of these criminal activities and murders," he said.

Chuck was addressing the 15th staging of the Restorative Justice Conference, held on Wednesday at The Summit in Kingston under the theme 'Transformation, Peace and Harmony through Restorative Justice'.

The minister urged Jamaicans to utilise the ministry's restorative justice programme to reduce murders and violence in the society.

Restorative justice seeks to resolve conflicts by having all parties involved come together to reach an agreement.

"If persons resolve disputes and conflicts peacefully, we can have less murders. It is just not right that we have over 1,000 murders per year, and I hope that in 2024, for the first time in perhaps 30-odd years, we can see murders drop below 1,000. Wouldn't that be great?" he asked.

Noting that more than 30 per cent of murders stem from domestic violence, Chuck said, "I know that restorative justice can play a part."

"The testimonials are such that when you listen to them, you ask, 'Why doesn't Jamaica know more about this healing power of restorative justice?'" he said.