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A body being removed by morgue attendants.
Glenroy Sinclair and Tanya Ellis, Gleaner Reporters
ADMINISTRATORS AT several of the island's funeral homes have again complained about the length of time, from several months to more than a year, that it is taking to dispose of unidentified and unclaimed bodies brought to their establishments by the police.
"Some of these bodies were decomposed when we took them up from off the streets and it costs a lot more to preserve these bodies," said Calvin Lyn, the proprietor of Lyn's Funeral Home in Manchester.
Mr. Lyn complained on Friday, that several bodies have been at his morgue for more than a year. He blamed the police for their tardiness in releasing the relevant documents to the undertakers, to facilitate a burial.
DOCUMENTS
He told The Sunday Gleaner that he had subsequently received documents from the police to bury seven bodies. "We should start burying them by next week," Mr. Lyn said.
This problem is not unique to Lyn's Funeral Home. Albert Brown of Brown's Funeral Home in Morant Bay, St. Thomas, said he often has to wait up to a month and at times two months, before receiving the documents for burial from the police.
"I am fully aware of the procedure that must follow in such a case. The procedure is outlined by the Government and requires that the unidentified body be fingerprinted, after which the police should order a post-mortem examination so that a burial order may be issued. This should subsequently lead to the issuing of a death certificate to legalise the burial," said Mr. Brown.
His brother, Anthony Brown, who operates funeral homes in Ocho Rios and Kingston, told The Sunday Gleaner that up to yesterday there were six unclaimed corpses at his morgue in Ocho Rios, one of which has been there for the past year.
"I have spoken to the police and have written several letters to the Ministry of National Security, but up to now I have not received a response," said Mr. Brown.
The situation is slightly different at Madden's Funeral Home in Kingston. A spokes-person there said they are not experiencing any such problem, because they have been following the procedure, which is to dispose of the unclaimed bodies in the pauper's lot. This is not done, however, until the police have completed the relevant process.
Acting Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas, told The Sunday Gleaner that he was aware that there was a problem and pointed to the non-payment of bills, incomplete investigations and the failure on the part of relatives to come forward and identify the victims, as possible reasons for the pile-up of bodies.
A spokesperson at the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) said a directive from Deputy Commissioner Jevene Bent was sent to police personnel advising them that they should complete their tasks within a 30-day period.
DCP Bent further advised the lawmen that if they were experiencing any problem, they should report the matter to her office.
