Arrest warrants under old traffic ticketing system going back to court for decision
Published:Monday | January 6, 2025 | 12:10 AMLivern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter
Hundreds of arrest warrants that were prepared for motorists who were ticketed by law enforcement under the old paper-based system are being returned to the courts, a top police official has revealed.
A precise figure was not disclosed.
The warrants relate to a waiver approved by Parliament in 2022 that nullified traffic tickets issued before February 1, 2018, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB).
McKenzie said the warrants are being sent back for the courts to “treat with them in the manner they see fit”.
“I don’t want to tell you what the court will do because I am not in a position to say that,” he told The Gleaner on Saturday.
The old paper-based system was fraught with complaints by motorists that they were being prosecuted for tickets that were paid.
Under the new e-ticketing system, which is included in the new Road Traffic Act, tickets issued to motorists are now shared in real time with Tax Administration Jamaica and the courts.
McKenzie said the police recognised the challenges with the old system and worked with other stakeholders, including the courts, to carry out the necessary cross checks instead of seeking to execute arrest warrants.
“So what really takes place in those instances is that there is a consolidation of the information to ensure that warrants were not issued and people had already paid the fines, which were some of the complaints with the paper-based system,” he explained.
Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chairman of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), noted that under the old system, when tickets were being written by the police, “there were a whole lot of mistakes that were made”.
“Therefore, when the ticket went to the tax office it couldn’t go through the courts for a warrant to be executed. So we are moving from a paper-based or manual system that was fraught with problems to a digital system, which is a big improvement,” Jones told The Gleaner.