Criminal Justice System has major problems
We’ve seen it happen so often that it’s almost routine: brought into court in bangles, walk out free a few months later. Did they commit the crime? Probably. Can the prosecution prove it? Not likely, as a combination of fear and ineptitude has turned the criminal justice system into a revolving door for even the most violent offenders. Over the last several weeks I’ve talked to people involved at all levels about the possibility of change…and nobody is optimistic.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
The fact that the wheels of justice turn slowly may have become accepted as part of Belize?s reality, but according to national legal eagles, several factors have now punctured the tires.
Kirk Anderson is Belize?s Director of Public Prosecutions. His office has taken the brunt of the public?s flak this year after several high profile cases, involving capital crimes, dropped through. But Anderson contends the emerging Belizean culture of violence, silence, and fear is responsible for the sad situation.
Kirk Anderson, Director of Public Prosecution
?It?s very, very difficult, almost impossible in many instances to obtain the cooperation of eyewitnesses to serious crimes particularly now, especially, we are speaking of the crime of murder. We?ve had at least four or five cases recently in which witnesses simply cannot be found or have been killed, perhaps because of their being witnesses in those cases. In some situations we believe that is exactly what has occurred.?
?Witnesses in cases in the Supreme Court are actually, whilst not willing to come to court and therefore being forced, to come to court and testify. When they get on the witness stand to testify, they will actually vary their testimony substantially from that which we had initially expected them to give as their testimony in court.?
And if perjury, witness intimidation, and ignoring court summons weren?t bad enough, the DPP says despite their best efforts, his office?s public image has become tarnished.
Kirk Anderson, DPP
?And if we are unable to locate a witness, then we?ll enter a nolle prosetu, which enables us at a later date, should be able to get the cooperation of the witnesses and locate them, to bring back that case. That is what we do. But in the mean time, the accused person will be discharged, set free, by the court.?
?At the end of it all, what the public has to understand is that unless we get the full cooperation of the public we cannot expect to win cases. Witnesses have to come forward to police. When they do come forward they have to be willing to testify in court because we do not have a circumstance under the law whereby convictions can be obtained without testimony in court.?
While life without witnesses is tough for prosecutors, judges complain that the backlog of cases threaten to make a mockery of the legal system. According to Belize City Magistrate Margaret Mckenzie, repeated requests for adjournments by police prosecutors clog the courts.
Margaret Mckenzie, Belize City Magistrate Margaret
?If you make an arrest, I don?t see why on that same day a file cannot be submitted. I don?t see why. I know there are times, like the person has to go to the doctor and you need a medico form; or the person is charged for drugs and the drug has to be taken to the chemist for testing. I don?t see how that can take six months to be done. I would want to see the cases come to court on a more quicker basis, so that people can feel like they are getting justice.?
?Sometimes you would have complainants who would come to the court and say listen, I don?t want the case because I?ve been coming to the court too much. Or I am frustrated because this case has been going on for a year and every time it?s just adjournment. It?s a waste of time. I have come here only to find out that there?s no case file yet from police so sometimes it?s not that they don?t want the case, but it?s because of frustration.?
And those feelings that have left those on the bench pleading for public support.
Margaret Mckenzie
?I would say to people out there who have cases pending, to please bear with us. It is not the fault of the court. Like I said, for whatever reason the police do not forward their files and if we don?t have a file, we cannot proceed to trial. It is only when prosecutor brings the file and says, magistrate, we are ready to proceed to trial today. Sometimes they would say that we are ready to proceed to trial and then they shout for the witness who is P.C. so and so only to find out that P.C. so and so is nowhere to be found. So, that?s another factor as well, where police are not showing up for their cases. ?
This is Inspector of Police Luis Castellanos, the officer in charge of the Prosecution Branch. It?s his job to make sure case files have been properly prepared and are promptly transferred to the courts. Inspector Castellanos admits the paperwork can be challenging for officers.
Inspector Luis Castellanos, Officer in Charge, Prosecution Branch
?From the date of the arrest, at least one month to prepare a file.”
Janelle Chanona
?And then they should be able to submit it to you??
Luis Castellanos
?And they submit it to our office and then we give it to the prosecutors and then they go to court with the files.?
Janelle Chanona
?Is that happening Inspector??
Luis Castellanos
?Sometimes, no. Sometimes you have policemen who do not prepare the files and then we?re in trouble then because we don?t have a file.?
?Sometimes they have a lot of work, sometimes they have more than one case file. So the problem is the amount of case files they have. They work by shift. They have six persons. Sometimes one person or two persons get a day off then you are left with four and then the files have to be–each one has to receive cases so they have a good amount of workload to deal with files.?
Castellanos contends that workload is hampered by a growing gulf of distrust between the public and the police.
Luis Castellanos
?The cooperation of witnesses; that is a major problem we have. If the Belizean public would get more into cooperating with the law enforcement as to if they witness a crime and are summoned to come forth and come before the court. We are having a problem with witnesses, not only in that sometimes they don?t appear, but also in reference to finding their address so we have a major problem in finding witnesses to come to court. We are not getting cooperation from the public.?
?To us, it makes us feel discouraged because then you put so much in it, and then you waste so much resources and then at the end of the day, the person who is alleged to be the accused just walks free and then the public gives you, they don?t, the public out there don?t understand that maybe it?s not as a result of the public, but they in the end still end up blaming the police. They end up blaming the police when the cases go down. ?
The police department has retained the services of a police officer turned lawyer, Eulalio Cantun, who will work closely with prosecutions within the department and at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that all case files are properly investigated and prepared.
