UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN

P.O. BOX 175, PORT OF SPAIN

Jamaica criminal justice system

An Assignment

Presented in Partial Fulfilment

Of the Requirements for the Course

CRMB313: Human Rights and Ethics

INSTRUCTOR: Mrs.Anne Akpaka

By

Kadijah Emmanuel

Date

3th March 2020

Approval……………….
Jamaica’s legal system is based on common law with three distinct arms of government: the

executive, the legislative and the judiciary (Slowe&Solomon, 2020). The system of government

is based on the British Westminster model (Slowe&Solomon, 2020)..A criminal justice system is

a set of legal and social institutions for enforcing the criminal law in accordance with a defined

set of procedural rules and limitations (Frase&Weidner,2002). Its purpose is to regulate behavior

and maintain Order in Society (Department of Correctional Services Jamaica, n.d.).The criminal;

justice system comprises of the police, courts and correctional services.

The role of the police outline in Section 13 of the Constabulary Force Act(Jamaica) are as

follows : “The duties of the Police under this act shall be to keep the watch by day and night; to

preserve the peace; to detect crime; apprehend or summon before a Justice, persons found

committing any offence, or whom they reasonably suspect of having committed any offence; to

serve and execute all summonses, warrants, subpoenas, notices and criminal process issued by

any Justice in a criminal matter, and to do and perform all duties appertaining to the office of

Constable” (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, n.d.). Whilst the administration of

justice is carried out through a network of courts. The courts of Jamaica are: Petty Session

Courts, The Judicature Parish Courts, The Supreme Court, The Court of Appeal, The Judicial

Committee of the Privy Council which is the is at the highest level of the court structure of

Jamaica and the Caribbean Court of Justice (Slowe&Solomon, 2020).Correctional services

within Jamaica include: community services, probation, rehabilitation, adult and juvenile

correction centers (Department of Correctional Services Jamaica, n.d).

In conclusion the criminal justice system comprises of the police, courts and corrections. These

agencies work together to maintain and law and order.

 References

Department of Correctional Services Jamaica. (n.d.). Criminal Justice System & Corrections. Retrieved

from https://www.dcs.gov.jm/pages/probation-services/criminal-justice-system-corrections/

FRASE, R. S., & WEIDNER, R. R. (2002). Criminal Justice System. In J. Dressler (Ed.), Encyclopedia

of Crime and Justice (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 371-393). Macmillan Reference USA.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3403000071/GVRL?u=caribuc&sid=GVRL&xid=4ffd91bb

The Judiciary. (2018, October 30). Retrieved from https://jis.gov.jm/government/the-

judiciary/#:~:text=The administration of justice is,the Jamaican Court of Appeal.

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. (n.d.). Relationship the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Retrieved from https://dpp.gov.jm/dpp_and_the_police#:~:text=“The duties of the Police,and

execute all summonses, warrants,

Slowe, J., & Solomon, C. (2020, June 6). UPDATE: The Jamaican Legal System and Legal Research.

Retrieved from https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Jamaica1.html