by Curlan Campbell
- Year 2012 had a record low of 72 cases
- Of 79 cases listed for April Assizes, 34 are sexual
- Majority of offences alleged to have been committed by young men under 35
The issue of sexual offences is still a crisis affecting Grenada’s criminal justice system. The court has managed to achieve a 90% decrease in the number of criminal cases with only 79 cases listed for the April Assizes, however, 42% are sexual offences.
Following the opening of the April Assizes held at High Court #1, Howard Pinnock Senior Crown Counsel in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, said while he is pleased with the reduced number of cases before the court since 2012 which had a record low of 72, there are concerns regarding the number of sexual offences plaguing the court. “Of the 79 cases we are seeing, 42% are sexual or sexual offences,” he said.
According to Pinnock, in April 2019, there were 181 cases, which decreased to 179 in 2020, then increased to 204 in 2021, and decreased again to 148 in 2022. The number of cases further reduced to 115 in 2023. He said it is particularly disturbing to note that the majority of offences are alleged to have been committed by younger men. “The statistics show that the majority of the offences are alleged to have been committed by young men under the age of 35, and, that is, of course, a concern to all in the criminal justice system.”
The introduction of the E-Litigation Portal (ELP), has been credited for assisting the court in reducing the backlog of cases. Another factor that can be attributed to the decline is the introduction of continuous sitting in the High Court.
“Before 2020, we had what is called an assizes system where we only sat for 3 sessions. It would have been February, the May and October assizes. And we sat in all for 9 months in 2020, or thereabouts. The Chief Justice changed that system. And so we have what is known as a continuous sitting of the High Court, where we sit for 11 months, so we only get a summer vacation in August and, of course, the public holidays like Easter. So we are sitting now for 11 months. And I can tell you, it comes with tremendous sacrifices,” Pinnock explained.
The Senior Crown Counsel attributed much of the success of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to stakeholders and institutions such as RGPF, Child Protection Authority, and Grenada Probation & Parole Office. Despite the success, the court still faces significant challenges, including logistics and a decline in criminal law practitioners.
Responding to criticism of the lack of dispensation of justice, Pinnock said those who are most vocal are the ones reluctant to testify before the court or give evidence to the police. “When someone makes an allegation of a crime, and the police are calling to investigate, if the public is not prepared to assist the police because there is always a cry in Grenada that we want justice, but some [people] are responding that they [are not] taking part. So I don’t know how you can want justice, and at the same time, you’re not taking part.”
Of the 79 cases listed for the April Assizes, 34 are sexual, 21 are homicides, and 13 are non-fatal offences, including dangerous harm, maiming, and grievous harm.
