The Corruption Prevention Act Acts of Corruption. Prepared by The Office of The Director of Public Prosecutions September 26, 2017

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1 The Corruption Prevention Act Acts of Corruption Prepared by The Office of The Director of Public Prosecutions September 26, 2017

2 Overview The mission statement of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is to provide the people of Jamaica with an independent and effective criminal prosecution service which is both fair and just. The ODPP is staffed with 44 Attorneys, 43 of whom act on behalf of the Learned Director as agents.

3 An Act of Corruption An act of Corruption is found under Section 14 of The Corruption Prevention Act. The Penalty for a person who commits an Act of Corruption is found in Section 15 of said Act which provides that it can be tried either in the Parish Court or in the Circuit Court. Naturally the penalty at the Circuit Court is much higher than that at the Parish Court.

4 Venue The Prosecution has however always elected to try these types of matters in the Parish Court. The main reason being that the matters will most likely be tried more quickly at the Parish Court than at the Circuit Court. At the Circuit Court, the matter will require the empanelling of a jury and it will also have to compete against matters such as Murder, Rape, Wounding with Intent and Lottery Scam Offences. At the Opening of the Michaelmas Term of the Circuit Court on September 18, 2017 there were some 861 matters listed for trial, 128 of which were new committals. It is a similar situation in Circuit Courts across the Island.

5 Conduct As such most Corruptly Soliciting or Corruptly Accepting matters are now prosecuted by Clerks of Courts in the Parish Courts. Our office will usually only get involved in high profile matters or matters of a specifically technical nature. There were various trainings and seminars put on in conjunction with agencies such as National Integrity Action to equip the Clerks of Courts; who are the ones who prosecute at the Parish Court level, to adequately deal with these matters. As such, the only Acts of Corruption that are exclusively prosecuted by members of our office are those concerning Illicit Enrichment, and any appellant work which stems from any of these matters.

6 Corruption Prevention and Coroners Matters Unit - ODPP What then is the role of the Corruption Prevention and Coroners Matters Unit within the ODPP. Primarily we provide rulings to various agencies. We provide advice and legal support if requested by Clerks of Courts who are prosecuting Acts of Corruption. Prosecute Illicit Enrichment Matters referred to us by The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. Prosecute public servants who fail to file statutory declarations that are referred to us by the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. Prosecute Corruptly Soliciting or Corruptly Accepting matters that are sufficiently complex, high profile or have a high public interest.

7 Corruption Related Rulings January to December Number of Files Recieved 57 Number of Rulings Done 48 0

8 Breakdown of Rulings 2012 No Criminal Charges, 5 Departmental Action, 13 Criminally Charged, 30

9 Corruption Related Rulings January to December Number of Files Recieved 63 Number of Rulings Done 56

10 Breakdown of Rulings 2013 No Criminal Charges, 15 Departmental Action, 6 Criminally Charged, 35

11 Corruption Related Rulings January to December Number of Files Recieved 33 Number of Rulings Done 39 0

12 Breakdown of Rulings 2014 No Criminal Charges, 13 Criminally Charged, 19 Departmental Action, 7

13 Corruption Related Rulings January to December Number of Files Recieved 17 Number of Rulings Done 22

14 Breakdown of Rulings 2015 No Criminal Charges, 3 Departmental Action, 5 Criminally Charged, 14

15 Corruption Related Rulings January to December Number of Files Recieved 25 Number of Rulings Done 15 0

16 Breakdown of Rulings 2016 Departmental Action, 1 No Criminal Charges, 3 Criminally Charged, 11

17 Corruption Related Rulings January to December Number of Files Recieved Number of Rulings Done 0

18 Breakdown of Rulings 2017 Departmental Action, 2 No Criminal Charges, 0 Criminally Charged, 5

19 Axis Title Breakdown of Rulings Chart Title Criminally Charged Departmental Action No Criminal Charges

20 OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS