Judge points to link between quick trials and reduced crime

Justice Carlisle Greaves says clearing the backlog of criminal cases in the courts can lead to a reduction in crime.

Speaking to jurors in Supreme Court No. 3 on Monday morning, moments after a case was dismissed due to the parties settling outside of court, he said this indicated that persons were now taking the consequences of their actions seriously.

“We need to get to the position where we’re so efficient that those who think to break our laws think twice. I believe it is working, I believe our crime rate must be dropping. 

“Do you see people making deals out there? All of a sudden, men making deals? All of that is because I believe they know that things are getting certain. Things are happening in these courts. Nobody wants to get 25 years and 35 years old or whole life; nobody wants that,” he said.

The judge, who has worked in several jurisdictions, added that he has seen the effectiveness of quick trials.

“I have worked in a country where they were shooting up the place every week, every month and we went, through a process of efficient trials and sentences, to a situation where in one year there was not a single murder and firearm offences fell drastically. They’re going to rise again because the court system lapsed into inefficiency. As long as you have a backlog, crime is going to increase because when a man is on bail after five years, do you think he’s out there going to Sunday School? You think he’s not going to practise what he was practising all along?” the judge contended.

Justice Greaves said while some people think that some sentences have been “too soft”, this will change as soon as the backlog is cleared.

“If we get the big backlog of cases disposed of, then we will have those left that we can manage. You will notice that the courts will be stronger and the sentences will be tougher and the crime will be less because as soon as you commit, you can get trialled when you don’t have a backlog. 

“But if you have a big backlog, you have to make an ease for all kinds of stuff and, frankly, the persons who benefit from it are the culprits. So a system that is efficient is for the benefit of the country. A system that can bring a caseload down so that it can be managed efficiently is better for everyone,” Justice Greaves contended. ]]>