Sunday, September 25 2011

UNITED KINGDOM Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer, says the state of emergency in Trinidad and Tobago “demonstrates the need for effective criminal justice systems which can efficiently and fairly meet with the demands placed on it”.

Starmer, who will be in TT tomorrow, made this observation in a statement that was issued on Friday.

“Serious organised crime does not respect national boundaries and so it is increasingly important that we work together to try and deal with crimes either where they arise or in countries through which they pass,” he said.

Starmer said improvements in the criminal justice system in TT will bring benefits to the UK.

He said he was pleased to be coming to TT to see the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) Bob Bland, in his role as criminal justice adviser to the Government, and get an update from Bland about the reform of this country’s criminal justice system.

Starmer said Bland’s three-year assignment in this country is the result of a partnership between TT, the Canadian government, which funded the project, the British High Commission and the CPS.

He added that Bland has over 25 years experience with the CPS and his last posting was in the organised crime division, a specialist division in the CPS dealing with transnational organised crime, both in terms of obtaining evidence and also helping other jurisdictions to develop their criminal justice systems. Tomorrow, Starmer is scheduled to deliver a lecture at the Hugh Wooding Law School at 9 am.