Barbados is among a number of countries in the Caribbean which is benefitting from the expertise of British criminal justice advisor Sirah Abraham.

Based in Barbados, Ms. Abraham is the newly appointed criminal justice advisor for the United States Embassy and the British High Commission, assigned to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

During a courtesy call with Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite today, Ms. Abraham discussed the introduction of criminal procedure rules in the Barbados court system.

She said the implementation of criminal procedure rules would be on the agenda of a proposed national stakeholders meeting to discuss criminal issues, noting that these rules, already in place in other countries including St. Lucia and Belize, automatically reduced delays in the courts.

The Attorney General said the backlog of cases in the courts continued to be of concern and he therefore welcomed any initiative which would introduce best practices with regard to this issue.

Other planned initiatives aimed at improving the court system were the abolition of preliminary enquiries, slated for year-end and the introduction of prison video links, scheduled to start in October, he disclosed.

Mr. Brathwaite told the criminal justice advisor that areas in which Barbados would welcome assistance included training for Police Prosecutors and the setting up of a separate family law division.

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