Robert Hart, Parliamentary Reporter
DIRECTOR OF Public Prosecutions (DPP), Kent Pantry, has blamed the failure of his office to effectively manage its workload on a thin staff complement and the need for more experienced prosecutors.
Mr. Pantry said, in the first ever annual report from the office of the DPP, that the frequent movement of staff from the office was the result of an "anomaly" in which the salary of resident magistrates has increased disproportionately to that of crown counsels.
"The effect of this recent anomaly is that it encourages crown counsel not to aspire to be an assistant director of public prosecutions, when he/she could opt to be a resident magistrate and obtain a more substantial salary than his/her seniors, " Mr. Pantry said in the report.
He added that, years ago, crown counsels and resident magistrates were on the same salary scale.
The DPP's report was tabled yesterday in the House of Representatives, just under a year after Prime Minister P.J. Patterson requested that the country's chief prosecutor begin submitting such yearly reviews on the activities of his office. Mr. Patterson was reacting to an admitted 'foul-up' by the DPP's Office in the handling of the much-publicised Janice Allen case.
PROSECUTORS TO BE REPLACED
In the report, Mr. Pantry indicated that, since January 2004, requests have been made to the Public Service Commission for four prosecutors to replace some of those who had resigned or had been transferred to other government departments.
"The Public Service Commission advised that due to the freeze by the Ministry of Finance and Planning, they have had to seek approval for the replacements," the report stated.
"This has severely hampered the work of the department as the shortage of legal personnel makes it difficult to properly man the courts, and carry out the other functions of the office."
Mr. Pantry also acknowledged that human rights groups have come to prominence since he took over as DPP in 1998, and that his office has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of prominent cases such as the killing of Michael Gayle.
"We welcome this scrutiny, because justice must not only be done but it must also manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done," Mr. Pantry said.
