TRANSITIONING REGIONAL TRAINING TO NATIONAL OWNERSHIP: Police & prosecutors to carry learning forward in their countries
TRANSITIONING REGIONAL TRAINING TO NATIONAL OWNERSHIP: Police & prosecutors to carry learning forward in their countries
Police investigators, police prosecutors and prosecutors from Offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) have been equipped to continue joint DPP-Police training within their own institutions, as the Partnership of the Caribbean and European Union on Justice (PACE Justice) Project, moves from regional delivery towards national ownership and sustainability.The two-day DPP-Police Training of Trainers Workshop, held at UN House in Barbados, built on country-level training delivered over recent months to strengthen case-file preparation, encourage earlier engagement between police and prosecutors and support more effective inter-agency cooperation. The initiative responds directly to challenges identified through consultations with participating countries, including weaknesses in case building and case-file preparation, evidentiary gaps, communication between investigators and prosecutors, and the need for earlier engagement in developing strong, prosecution-ready cases. Earlier this year, the PACE Justice Project (PACE Justice), funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), delivered country-level training in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis and St Lucia.
Participants selected from the earlier country-level sessions were introduced to the Regional Training Manual, a practical resource to support future delivery of the programme within their institutions. They worked through the learning objectives and key messages in each module, practiced facilitating exercises and role plays and examined how the content could be adapted to suit different institutional and national contexts. The training forms part of a wider three-part approach: country-level training informed by consultations with national partners; a regional Training of Trainers workshop to support continued national capacity-building; and sensitization on DPP-Police Standard Operating Procedures to help translate strengthened cooperation into more consistent day-to-day practice.
PACE Justice Project Lead Christalle Gemon said the shift towards national delivery is central to the sustainability of the initiative: “We wanted participants to leave this workshop confident not simply in the material, but in their ability to deliver it to another group of investigators and prosecutors and facilitate the training themselves. PACE Justice is in its final phase, so sustainability is at the centre of our work. The knowledge and tools developed through this initiative will have their greatest value when they are owned, adapted and carried forward by the institutions they were designed to support.” The initiative strengthens how police and prosecutors build, review and communicate case information more effectively, helping identify evidentiary and procedural gaps earlier and enabling more timely action on cases.
Over time, these improvements can support wider efforts to address case delays and strengthen the responsiveness of justice services. Attaché for Security, Justice and Human Rights at the Delegation of the European Union to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean States, Alessandro Tedesco, said: “The European Union has been proud to support PACE Justice and its wider objective of strengthening the efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness of justice systems across the Caribbean. The real measure of investment in training is not simply the number of people who participate in a workshop.
It is whether the knowledge, tools and approaches introduced become embedded within institutions and continue to be transferred to others.” Putting cooperation into practice PACE Justice is partnering with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the development and roll-out of the SOPs. Vanessa Fleming of UNODC gave a special presentation during the workshop on the procedures and their intended application.Later this year, country-level sessions will allow participants to review the SOPs in their national context and support their practical application.The workshop also drew on Caribbean and European expertise. Paula V.
Llewellyn, K.C., former Director of Public Prosecutions of Jamaica, Superintendent Keneil Henry of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and European representatives contributed perspectives on investigations, police-prosecutor cooperation, case management and approaches that can be considered within Caribbean justice systems. The overall objective is to establish a cadre of national trainers able to continue delivering the joint DPP-Police programme, while supporting practical cooperation between investigators and prosecutors beyond the life of the project.