Case files go through too many channels – senior prosecutor

The several channels that case files go through before they reach the court, hinder the court from running effectively.

Yesterday, during a sitting of the Serious Offences Court,{{more}} senior prosecutor Adolphus Delpesche expressed this view when an officer indicated that a matter that had been listed since May, 2014, is still going through the channels.

“This clogs the wheels of justice. This is what really hurts me. A man’s freedom is at stake and another man’s justice is at stake,” Delpesche said.

Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias agreed with Delpeche and stated that she is baffled as to why it takes so long to have the files come before the court.

“It makes the police officers look incompetent,” she said.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT after court ended, Delpesche explained that after a file is sent to the Director of Public Prosecution and the green light is given to proceed, the file has to be passed to the Commissioner of Police, then to the Deputy Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner and others, before it reaches the court.

“My view is that once the DPP has okayed the file, it should just go to the Commissioner and come straight to whoever is prosecuting,” Delpesche told SEARCHLIGHT.

“To me, there is just too much delay with these matters,” he added.

The matter in contention was adjourned to January 2015.(KW)