JES Projects
Strengthening the Guyanese Criminal Justice System
Located on the north-east coast of South America, Guyana’s ports have long been sites of organized criminal activity and drug trafficking. To tackle rising rates of transnational crime, JES was commissioned by the Canadian High Commission and the US Embassy in Guyana to carry out a diagnostic on Guyana's criminal justice system in 2015.
After conducting in-depth interviews with Guyanese judges, magistrates, prosecutors, lawyers, and police, we designed a two-year program that would equip Guyana’s criminal justice system with the tools to provide fair trials and more thorough investigations.
Our goals: Increase the knowledge and skills of:
- Police investigators in crime scene processing and case management
- Police prosecutors and public prosecutors criminal case preparation
- Magistrates in legal knowledge and trial management techniques
Increase their access to:
- Forensic video analysis
- Crime scene equipment
Over two years, JES developed the capacity of Guyanese police, prosecutors, and magistrates to collect and preserve evidence, training participants in Major Case Management, Crime Scene Investigation, Oral Trials and Forensic Video Analysis. Our teams also worked with magistrates to expand their legal knowledge and improve trial management techniques to strengthen their cases and reduce backlogs in the court system.
As in most JES capacity-building programs, JES implemented a “train the trainer” model to ensure that our partners keep learning long after our departure. We are proud that 6 JES-trained trainers are now delivering courses that provide for the sustainable growth and impact of the project.
- Established 1 forensic video analysis unit within the Guyana Police Force
- Delivered 10 training and coaching sessions
- Trained 138 participants
- Donated 2 forensic video analysis kits and 11 crime scene investigation kits to the Guyana Police Force
- 6 JES-trained trainers delivering courses and ensuring the sustainable growth and impact of the project
