Capacity Building / Sensitization Seminars
NIA’s continued effort to facilitate the strengthening of professional capacity and will of officers in the judicial and security system, as well as lend support to key governance institutions has led to its facilitation of several training seminars targeting prosecutors within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Clerks of the Court, Parish Court Judges and Financial Investigators. To date NIA has facilitated the training of just under seven hundred (700) members of the public sector. All presenters, discussants and coaches have been drawn from among the most experienced past and present members of the local judicial system to include The Hon. Mrs. Justice Zaila McCalla, Chief Justice, The Hon. Mr. Justice Seymour Panton, President of the Court of Appeal and The Hon. Mr. Justice Bryan Sykes, Supreme Court Judge. The assistance of overseas presenters have also been added to strengthen delivery.
In addition to this NIA has also facilitated a sensitization seminar for Supreme Court Judges on the issue of corruption along with a Panel Discussion for Accountants on the role they must play in combatting corruption. NIA have also responded to the views and suggestions of the participants and have improved on the method of training delivery utilized by the tutors and presenters. In this regard, for the first time, the Hampel Method of advocacy training was used in the training seminar for the Clerks of the Court. This saw small groups of participants being matched with coaches and judges who guided them through various aspects of a trial simulation. From all accounts this method is ideal for such training and NIA will take these and similar suggestions on board in future seminars.
Participants have also requested other training such as training on how to effectively utilize the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) in criminal proceedings. NIA has again taken this suggestion on board and commissioned the drafting of a POCA Manual which was launched on December 3, 2014 (event photos) and is now available at NIA’s office. This manual; “Proceeds of Crime Act: Taking the Profit Out of Crime” is the third in the serious of manuals commissioned by NIA to add to the toolkits of prosecutors particularly those involved in corruption related cases following on the previous two; Strengthening Jamaica’s Conflict of Interest Rule and Prosecuting the Corrupt Best Practices. The new POCA manual as requested will form a part of NIA’s future training seminars. In 2017, NIA facilitated a regional workshop in Investigative Journalism targeting Jamaican and Caribbean journalists in the field. These efforts to Strengthen investigative journalism capabilities of media practitioners will form an integral part of NIA’s work as we recognise the important role the media is intended in play in the preservation of the country’s democracy.
Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies Roundtable
Within recent times, anti-corruption champions have emerged and institutions have been established with specific mandates related to the combat of corruption. However, these positive developments are significantly impeded by non-existent or inadequate networks amongst anti-corruption stakeholders, separated in self-contained silos, sometimes divided by political affiliation and often kept apart by insufficient facilitation, which would drive communication and collaboration. All of these circumstances present the need for developing networks among key anti-corruption stakeholders, broadening the base of support and developing collaborative relations with organisations dealing with emerging issues relevant to the anti-corruption agenda. Against this background NIA is committed to on a quarterly basis bringing together the heads of these agencies in a roundtable format to facilitate and encourage discussions around the shared task of building integrity through the combat of corruption. NIA has so far stage many such successful discussions and will continue to do so in attempting to play a crucial part in fostering closer working relations with these agencies.