AG: DPP's office short-staffed by 114 employees

THE office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) is short-staffed by 114 employees, with 226 out of 330 positions currently filled.

In a written response to a question from the Opposition in the Senate, Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, said the total number of positions at the DPP is 330, which includes 104 contract positions and 226 permanent positions. As at March 1, 226 of these positions were filled, which included 162 permanent positions and 64 contract positions.

On March 8, DPP Roger Gaspard, in a radio interview, said his office was hamstrung by "an acute and chronic" staff shortage affecting its ability to prosecute cases in every court throughout the country.

He said his office had 58 attorneys and pointed out that a 2013 Cabinet note proposed it should have 137.

The written response by Armour said of the 226 permanent positions for the Criminal Law Department of the DPP’s office, 162 are vacant and 64 filled. Of the 226 positions, 129 are for practising attorneys ranging from State Counsel I to DPP. The number of those positions filled was not disclosed.

The total number of contracted employees for the DPP’s office, Armour said was 104, of which 64 are vacant and 40 filled. Those included legal counsel I and II, paralegals and senior legal counsel. Armour did not provide a breakdown of how many of these positions are currently filled either.

The DPP’s staff shortage has been an issue since he did that interview, which came two days after he withdrew the 2005 corruption charges against former prime minister Basdeo Panday, his wife Oma, former government minister Carlos John and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh.

On March 11, Armour chastised Gaspard for his supposed lack of manpower, saying there are other agencies also starved of necessary resources that are producing.

He said then: “That is an unsatisfactory explanation for under-performance of the DPP. Other critical arms of the criminal justice system are also operating below capacity, yet far more effectively. We need to critically examine what are the systemic issues that are hampering the performance of the DPP’s office.”

Attorneys at the DPP’s office subsequently called for Armour to apologise, highlighting the work they do with limited staff and the toll they say it takes on them.

Chief Justice Ivor Archie also dismissed Gaspard’s claim of a staff shortage. In a six-page letter, Archie said he was not convinced it was the staff shortage at the DPP’s office that caused low productivity.

Addressing the issue, at a media conference on March 23 the Prime Minister said he met with Armour on recruiting suitable attorneys from the Commonwealth to fill vacancies at the DPP’s office. Dr Rowley said he advised Armour to speak with the Commonwealth Secretariat to fill the gaps.

At a joint select committee (JSC) meeting on national security on April 19, Gaspard reiterated the issue of a staff shortage at his office. One such shortage was the lack of a human resource manager. Deputy DPP Joan Honore-Paul told the JSC members she had to take on that responsibility, along with her prosecutorial duties.