Passion for service encourages youth to become justices of the peace

WESTERN BUREAU:

INTEREST among youth applying to become justices of the peace (JP) in St James was evident at the commissioning ceremony at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall last Thursday. Among the newly commissioned JPs, 60 per cent were young people.

According to Custos of St James Conrad Pitkin, majority of young JPs were 35 years old and under.

“I would say a large part of the cohort yesterday (Friday) was young people. We had one person who was 24 years old, that is the youngest to be commissioned from the group of 48 that are newly appointed,” Pitkin told The Gleaner.

One criterion for appointment as a justice of the peace is to be at least 23 years old.

Tameka Bryce, attorney-at-law, one of the young, newly commissioned JPs, noted that her motivation for applying is her passion for serving others.

“There are so many people who don’t have the resources and immediate assistance to quell their issues. I am motivated, intrinsically, to assist persons who are in need. I find that a justice of the peace in your community is a great office to serve people and the wider Jamaica,” Bryce said.

DIRE NEED

Thirty-one-year-old Micah Vassell shared that there was a dire need for a JP in his community.

“The only JP in my community died. Based on my research and what I have seen, I used my initiative and saw it as the best way of impacting my community,” said Vassell.

“As a young man, I love serving and volunteering, as I am always giving back to the people. The only challenge I see is the newness of being a JP,” he added. “But we have mentors and people we have to shadow until we reach a level where we can do it on our own.”

Concerning the issue of non-payment for the service, two of the newly commissioned youngsters had a slight difference of opinion.

One JP said, “I have no concern about receiving any payment for assisting someone. Not everything has a monetary value. It is a voluntary office and I was well aware [of] what the duties entailed before applying. I have a job that pays me, and the JP’s office provides a service for persons who cannot afford to pay.”

Another JP, who asked not to be identified, said: “My opinion is, it is not a job, so therefore we cannot expect to be paid. However, for stationery and gas for travelling from out of parish, those persons could be compensated with a stipend, especially for those who do not have a job,” the person added.

In an article published by The Sunday Gleaner, there were no reported cases of JPs requesting and accepting payment to authenticate documents in St James.

As for both the newly commissioned and experienced ones, Pitkin noted that there is ongoing training.

“Every year we have a minimum of three or four training sessions. For the new ones, we don’t mainly have sensitisation, but training to assist them in what they have to do and what to expect. Things like filling out forms, and how to do authorisation of documents and photographs,” he said.