Your news in a nutshell
- Police fatally shoot 34 between Jan & Mar
- Holness defends proposed Parliament building
- Sykes chides judges
- Schools sceptical about accepting state-care children
- Ministry looks at how mentally ill treated in prison
- Landlords encouraged to register with rent board
1. Police fatally shoot 34 between Jan & Mar
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has revealed that 66 persons have been shot, 34 fatally, by the police between January and March this year. Speaking at a press conference at the commission’s head office earlier today, Assistant Commissioner Hamish Campbell told journalists that St Catherine recorded the highest number of fatal shootings with 10, while the parishes of Manchester, Trelawny and Portland had none. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
2. Holness defends Proposed Parliament building
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has rejected the view that the proposed parliament building at the National Heroes Circle is a waste of money. According to Holness, Jamaica has never had a purpose-built parliament, and now is the time. “The building itself lacks the stature and functionality of a modern Parliament,” Holness said Thursday. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
3. Sykes chides judges
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes has described as unacceptable the fact that over the 15-month period, from January last year to March this year, judges at the Supreme Court handed down decisions in 27 per cent of the cases in which they reserved judgment. The nation’s top jurist has warned, too, that judges at all levels of the judiciary must accept that their performance would be measured. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
4. Schools sceptical about accepting state-care children
Serious concerns are being raised about the level of discrimination that some school administrators display towards children who are wards of the State. The issue was raised by Audrey Budhi, director of children and family programmes at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency, who highlighted the incidents of bullying that children continued to face. This was in addition to challenges that the agency encountered when it interacted with some schools. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
5. Ministry looks at how mentally ill treated in prison
The Ministry of National Security has said that it is working on a policy on how to treat, care, and house mentally ill persons who are incarcerated but who are unfit to plead. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
6. Landlords encouraged to register with rent board
Chairman of the Rent Assessment Board Rose Bennett-Cooper is calling on landlords to take advantage of the low registration fee to sign up with the entity in order to benefit from the range of services provided. She pointed out that legislation being proposed will raise the registration fee from the current $20. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
