700 justice workers to be trained in bypassing social biases when serving public

Informal language usage, lack of education and physical disabilities are among the challenges - and even biases - that prevent members of the public from accessing aspects of the justice system. It’s a dilemma that prompted yesterday’s launch of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Social Justice and Gender Workshop in St Andrew.

The project, implemented by the UNDP and funded by Global Affairs Canada, aims to provide stronger support for individuals deemed vulnerable due to either their physical or social realities. These include women in crisis, persons in rural areas, children in repeated conflict with the law, and persons living with mental health issues.

The Institute of Gender and Development Studies, as well as the Jamaica Council for persons with Disabilities were also key stakeholders of the project aimed at training some 700 law-enforcement and justice representatives across the parish over seven years.

“Sometimes we are biased against people based on language use. So, if the persons delivering the service speak standard English, there are times when persons may come speaking patois, and the service provider may not want to interact with a person who speaks patois only,” explained Dr Dalea Bean, head of the Institute of Gender and Development Studies at The University of the West Indies.

“We may not want to interact with a young person because of how they talk, they might use jargon and unfamiliar terms, or an older person or someone with a disability, or short-tempered, and we are not able to communicate with them. These are the types of things we see, and they cause a barrier to persons getting the justice that they need to get.”

She said the aim is to get participants, yesterday’s batch mainly from St Catherine, to understand and counter their own biases in furtherance of delivering high-quality and effective service to the public they serve. Each participant will be given pre and post examinations as part of the project’s evaluation, explained Bean.

Shellian Forrester, UNDP’s project manager, said the budget for the project is CAD$12 million, and that the UNDP is “mandated to work towards the sustainable development goals. We believe in building the capacity of national institutions to develop their services. This project is in alignment with the UNDP’s mandate and objectives”.

LACK OF WANTING INFORMATION

One participant, Constable Jovan Kerr, cited behavioural issues, lack of education, improper socialisation, and a lack of desire to receive information as some of the variables that leave residents of St Catherine North Police division disadvantaged when it comes to efficiently navigating the island’s justice services.

“People have a lack of wanting information. People are more driven to be entertained than educated, and I think it is a part of how they are developed. They are seeing more parties rather than persons making a conscious living through a nine-to-five,” explained Kerr.

“It is not that what it is teaching is new to me, but what this programme does is reiterate some possible biases that I might have developed over bad socialisation and exposure... and indicate some of the things that I need to change, and also pass on to my colleagues,” he said.

Participant Ann-Marie Bishop, attorney and justice of the peace (JP), listed problematic children, land disputes, school violence, delinquent parents, and unemployment as some of the issues on which residents seek her guidance.

“Being a JP is not just about signing papers; we are playing a more robust role because we have been trained, and this workshop is one such training. We are part of the justice system, and we play a significant role. At the community level, JPs have an opportunity to help resolve issues or to guide persons before the issues escalate to the courthouse,” she said, adding that in most instances complaints are referred to the police or other relevant agencies.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com