Magistrate Fazil Azeez, who presides at two courts on the West Demerara yesterday held a retreat for prosecutors, police, court staff and probation officers to review the operations of those courts.
During a three-hour meeting after court had ended, senior police officers of the district, prosecutors, court staff and representatives of the Probation and Welfare Department held discussions and pledged to work closer next year.
Issues such as the preparation of cases by the police, prosecution in the courts, attendance of police and other witnesses to give evidence at court, the timely arrival of prisoners from the Georgetown prisons, the execution of arrest warrants and serving of summonses and the timely presentation of exhibits especially from the police forensic laboratory were raised. Additionally, the role of the probation and welfare service particularly in relation to juvenile offenders was discussed.
The magistrate told Stabroek News that all the agencies pledged to work closer to ensure the speedy dispensing of proceedings. He disclosed that certain types of offences such as sexual offences involving juveniles and larceny were on the rise.
He asserted that delays in court proceedings due to the absence of witnesses, lack of preparedness on the part of the police and absence of attorneys were the major problems encountered during the year.
“Some proceedings were protracted because of these delays
