City courts have started adjourning matters to allow the police time to reconstruct documents for court proceedings to continue in wake of the Brick-dam Police Station fire.
During hearings yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan informed several persons that their matters were being adjourned to later dates while the police reconstructed the files. She explained that the delay was due to the documents being destroy-ed in the fire at the Brick-dam Police Station on Saturday last. The courts have also offered a temporary laptop and mobile internet device for the Police Station. The devices were handed over yesterday.
Acting Chief Justice Roxane George on Tues-day signalled the judiciary’s commitment to providing support to the police in whatever way it can to ensure cases affected are heard. During her address at the judiciary’s launch of its revised code of ethics for judicial officers, Chief Justice George said that the Guyana Police Force, one of the judiciary’s justice-partners, can be assured of its commitment to “assisting in whatever way possible, to ensure that the cases in the court system can proceed.” Additionally, in expressing her sympathies over the inferno, she underscored the iconic nature of the Brickdam Police Station and said that the fire which resulted in its loss was a tragedy.
Commander of Region ‘4’ A Simon Mc Bean had previously told this newspaper that court records had not been digitized. He had said that for this reason, a comprehensive check will have to be undertaken to determine the quantum of documents pertaining to current court cases destroyed in the fire. It is still unknown how many court documents have been destroyed. In the meantime, the Commander said that the police will be seeking the court’s assistance with restructuring the documents.
