U.S. and UK Governments Support Training on National Case File Standards

The Governments of the United States of America and the United Kingdom continue to provide assistance to the criminal justice system in Saint Christopher and Nevis by training police and prosecutors to manage criminal case files more efficiently and professionally. This will reduce delays in prosecuting criminal matters and increase public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Thirty officers of the Royal Saint Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) participated in a training workshop on a new system that will improve the quality and content of criminal case files prepared by the police. Standardized case files enable prosecutors to advance cases more efficiently and ensure that cases can be managed and presented in a coherent manner at trial. Standardizing criminal case file management is expected to speed up the hearing of criminal matters.

The National Case File Standards were jointly produced by the US/UK Criminal Justice Reform Project and the Regional Security System (RSS). 

The workshop took place on July 28, 2023, at the Customs and Excise Department Training Centre, where facilitators Latoya McDowald, Senior Legal Adviser to the Criminal Justice Reform Project, and Major Kerry Waterman, Director of Risk Management and Policy at the RSS, trained officers on the concepts of early evidential reviews, file building, and case management. Further training will include a ‘train the trainer’ component to ensure that the initiative is sustainable and fully embedded within the RSCNPF and other key criminal justice system stakeholders.

The training was attended by RSCNPF officers from various units including Head of the Crime Directorate, Superintendent James Francis, as well as a representative from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Deputy Police Commissioner Cromwell Henry welcomed the training and the opportunity to improve on the preparation of case files as a critical foundation for favorable case outcomes. He thanked the US, UK and RSS for their continued assistance.

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