Police prosecutors stationed at the new Magistrates’ Court Complex are reportedly doing work from their cars, according to the country’s attorney general.
Allyson Maynard-Gibson said the conditions at the court are not “the best” and there was no consideration given to a space for prosecutors when the complex was being built.
“I think it’s very unfortunate to have a situation where you have a magistrates’ court and you have no room for a prosecutors office,” she told TV talk show host Wendall Jones while appearing on the JCN television show, Jones & Company.
“That is something we are addressing and by the time I come back here I hope it will be addressed. How can you have a prosecutor working out of their car? That is ridiculous. As we speak, we are also putting up fencing because it is an issue of security. I don’t want to say much more, but we are doing some things around there. The parking lot is also under construction.”
One prosecutor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Bahama Journal yesterday that the situation is “really bad.”
“Mondays are the worst because you usually have a large number of cases due to the two-day break,” the prosecutor said.
“We are also still having problems with the building like the air-conditioning as well as electrical problems. From the outside, it’s a beautiful building and it’s what we needed, but the inside and the planning leaves much to be desired. The attorney general knows our concerns and has assured us that the matters will be dealt with in due course.”
Former Attorney General John Delaney told the Journal earlier this year that the police prosecutors attached to the $6.5 million magistrates’ court would be housed in the old courts on Nassau Street.
Prior to this year, there were several courts located through Bank Lane, which had its own set of challenges, including limited space, building defects and other inefficiencies.
There was also the issue of the 12 courts being in separate locations – some in Bank Lane, one on Parliament Street and the others on Nassau Street.
The complex, which opened earlier this year, was supposed to open in September 2010, but the projected move in date was later changed to the first quarter of 2011 and pushed back further after a few setbacks to 2012.
Former Public Works Minister Neko Grant explained the delay.
At the time he said that vagrants occupied the interior of the building when the present contractor took possession of it and the building required a “massive cleanup.”
The facility includes state-of-the-art technology, working areas for court stenographers, a lounge for magistrates and a library.
The complex is also equipped with a modern fire and surveillance system, a reception bay and a secure holding area for prisoners.
A police station is also at the rear of the building.
