Hinkson loses some of his portfolio

Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson appears to be an unlikely casualty of the spate of current violent crime.

In an announcement tonight from the Government Information Service, it was revealed that a number of responsibilities related directly to law and order have been shifted from his portfolio and attached to that of the Attorney General Dale Marshall. The St James North representative is no longer responsible for the Royal Barbados Police Force,theForensic Services Centre,theCriminal Justice Research Unitand thePolice Complaints Authority. The changes take immediate effect. No reasons were given for the shift of responsibilities.

However Hinkson still has responsibility for the Barbados Fire Service, Immigration, Post Office, Government Industrial School, National Council on Substance Abuse and the Prison Service.

However, his previous responsibilities are now added to a long list in Marshall’s portfolio that include: Principal legal adviser to Government; Law reform and law revision; Court Administration; Legal Aid; Legal Affairs; Court Process Office; Magistrates’ Courts; Registration Department; Supreme Court; Community Legal Service Commission; Rehabilitation of Offenders Board; Director of Public Prosecutions; Financial Intelligence Unit; Anti-Money Laundering Authority and the Family Law Council.