News
TCI 2024 Court Cases by the Numbers; the Road to Swift Justice
Deandrea Hamilton
Editor
Turks and Caicos, January 10, 2025 – The Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands in delivering her Opening of the Legal Year report and forecast, declared that the courts of the country are institutions of accountability and listed a need for adequate infrastructure, adequate funding and improved staffing as crucial in achieving swift justice.
“Our mandate is to provide access to quality justice through the provision of user-friendly court processes and procedures which provide unimpeded access to justice. We seek to do this by managing cases brought before the courts efficiently to achieve speedy outcomes,” said Hon Mabel Agyemang, CJ.
While she admits to falling short on some goals including making justice more accessible, citing particularly the need to get courts running more consistently in North Caicos and South Caicos and activating service kiosks, the CJ was firm on the goals for cutting through the caseload.
“Our strategic objectives, contained in a five-year Strategic Framework document (2020-2025), are: to achieve real, meaningful and sustainable judicial independence, infrastructural reform, to enhance access to justice and to improve the quality of our service through digital transformation and a strengthened court administration. In the past year, judges and magistrates demonstrated their resilience in their commitment to the delivery of justice, as they navigated what were sometimes challenging circumstances: from having to adapt to E Judiciary, to coping with security concerns related to the discharge of judicial duties, as well as navigating disruptions of work due to infrastructural difficulties.”
In 2024, 22 new appeals were filed. The Chief Justice informed that 17 appeals were “disposed of. They were made up of 4 criminal appeals and 18 were civil appeals.”
Two of these appeals were from the Labour Tribunal and were also settled.
Supreme Court criminal cases for 2024 started with a 68 case backlog from the previous year; 57 new cases including: “murder, rape, robbery, theft, assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, were filed.”
The court managed to conclude 78 of these cases, 47 remain pending and are at various stages in the criminal trial process.
There were 80 civil cases carried over from 2023 with a new 145 civil cases filed in 2024. The courts disposed of 83.
There were 64 family law cases, a combination of 20 from 2023 and 44 new matters filed in 2024.
Eighteen of these were concluded.
When it comes to the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team government corruption trials, the Chief Justice who is presiding over the matters said, “I am pleased to announce that the second of the two severed SIPT trials (Trial A), which was stalled for about a year, commenced in September 2024 with pre-trial matters.
The trial commenced on 2nd December 2024 and is ongoing.”
From The Magistrate’s Court, these are the statistics:
Criminal matters – 281; Traffic tickets – 2772; Immigration matters – 103; Civil claims – 349; National Insurance Board – 25; Care and Protection – 49; Custody – 19; Child support – 37; Adoption – 7; Protection Order – 54; and Access and visitation – 13.
The Magistrate Court Registry in Grand Turk had a total of 374 matters.
According to the report from the chief justice, the breakdown is as follows: Criminal matters – 97; Traffic tickets – 110; DECR matters – 25; Immigration matter – 1; Civil claims – 84; Care and Protection – 18; Custody – 8; Child support – 21; Adoption – 2; Protection Order – 7; and Access and visitation – 1.
The Magistrate’s Courts disposed of a total of 1435 cases which were made up of fines imposed, custodial sentences.
In the civil judgements which included family orders, probation orders, and dismissals/withdrawals, the breakdown of the figures are as follows:
Providenciales: 1068 of 3709 cases; Grand Turk disposed of 337 of 374 cases; North Caicos; 12 cases and South Caicos, 18 cases. 
In the Coroner’s Court, 120 deaths were reported or filed in 2024.
These were made up of: 9 cruise ship deaths; 46 suspected homicides; 4 undetermined causes of death; 43 deaths by natural causes and 20 deaths caused by accidents (industrial accidents, accidental drownings and motor vehicle collisions).
The total number of matters listed for 2024 were 165.
The report revealed that an impressive 143 matters were concluded in 2024.
Additionally, there were 84 Inquests opened last year in the new Coroner’s Court. More than half, 40, were concluded, “2 were closed since they were deemed natural deaths or deaths due to natural causes and 42 remain open.”
The backlog on the coroner’s court cases dated back five years. Chief Justice Agyemang informed that “of the matters filed between 2019 and 2024: One hundred and one (101) were formally discontinued. There was a 50% disposal rate in respect of opened Inquests that is, 50% of Inquests were closed. 100% disposal rate of deaths due to natural causes, and 3% disposal rate of suspected homicides.”
Forty-two cases made it to mediation and 11 were settled. Nine cases remain unsettled, four cases were withdrawn and there are 20 matters pending and scheduled for on-going mediation this year.
Nassau, Bahamas, January 15, 2025 – CIBC Caribbean has warned about an ongoing ‘smishing scam’ targeting clients in The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
It noted that fraudsters have been sending text messages to persons stating that their accounts were placed on hold or that their cards were locked and requesting them to click on a link and to enter their banking credentials in order to regain access to their accounts.
The bank has reiterated that it does not send out texts or SMS messages with links for clients to click on.
Clients who receive any communication with links should check that they are from a bona fide source prior to attempting to click on them.
The latest fraud attempt is a smishing scam and we are taking the necessary steps to report the fraudulent sites, the bank said.
Smishing occurs when fraudsters attempt to steal customers’ data or money through a text message that tries to trick them into following a link and revealing personal details or login information.
If you believe that you have encountered a suspicious message, just follow these simple tips.
Firstly, don’t click on any links or attachments and don’t reply to the message. Try and establish the legitimacy of the message by getting in contact with the organisation through alternative means, for example, calling the phone number on your printed statements.
If the sender claims to represent CIBC Caribbean, then forward the email as an attachment to our dedicated fraud team (fraud@cibcfcib.com) and delete the message from your system.
It is also a good idea to regularly review all your financial accounts and if you spot any irregularities, contact the bank immediately. Additionally, email security should be reviewed and consider changing your password to a stronger one, using a combination of characters, letters and numbers. Never share your internet banking log-in credentials or One-Time Verification Codes (OTVC) with anyone!
January 13th, 2025 – Nassau, Bahamas – The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) is excited to announce the appointment of new officers and members of the BNT Council 2024 -2025, elected at the organization’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in October and later confirmed during a special meeting after the AGM.
Mrs. Joanne Smith has been elected as President of the Council. As President and Creative Director of Media Enterprises, she brings a wealth of experience to the role. A former President of the Rotary Club of East Nassau and a Lifetime Member of the BNT, Smith is a passionate advocate for environmental preservation. Her long-standing involvement in producing educational materials for the BNT and her expertise in public relations will be invaluable as the nonprofit strives to promote the national park system and expand its membership base.
Returning to the Council as Deputy President is Ms. Janet Johnson, a former BNT President. With more than 40 years of leadership experience in the tourism industry, both internationally and nationally, Johnson’s marketing expertise will be critical as the BNT implements its 2024-2029 Strategic Plan, targeting expanded infrastructure and visitation for 12 national parks.
Mr. Phillip Cumming has been appointed Honorary Treasurer. A chartered accountant and past President of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, Cumming is also an avid birder and nature photographer.
Elected members of the BNT Council include: Geoff Andrews (immediate past President); Marvin Arrington; Glenn Bannister; Kevin Cartwright; Hank Ferguson; Janet Johnson; Marcus Laing; Neil McKinney; Devin Peet; Naisha Roberts; Karin Sanchez; Gary Sands; Tanya Woodside; and Eddie Carter.
Appointed members are: Dr. Maria Woodside-Oriakhi, University of The Bahamas; Dr. Ana Luz Porzecanski, American Museum of Natural History; Dr. Karen Bjorndal, University of Florida; Christopher Hughes, US Parks Service; Meredith Ross, Leon Levy Foundation; Dr. Pamela Reid, University of Miami RSMAS; Dr. Barney Long, re:wild; and Aurelio Ramos, National Audubon Society.
Representing The Bahamas Government are: Christina Davis-Justin and Holly Peel, Governor General’s Representatives; Ashley Sturrup, Ministry of Education; Dr. Kenneth Romer, Ministry of Tourism; Dr. Rhianna Neeley-Murphy, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources; and Gregory Bethel, Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources.
“We are thrilled to welcome such a talented and diverse group of leaders to our Executive Board,” said Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle, BNT’s
Executive Director. “Their combined experience and dedication to The Bahamas’ national park system will be essential as we work to accomplish the goals outlined in our new five-year strategic plan.”
“It is indeed an honor to serve as the President of the BNT,” said Joanne Smith. “They have grown The Bahamas’ national park system to 33 national parks that protect marine resources, endangered species, and the habitats necessary for the survival of our island flora and fauna. I am looking forward to working with the BNT team and the Council to ensure we meet our strategic goals.
“One of my goals is to increase the membership of the organization and support sustainable finance mechanisms for the parks. I am especially grateful to past President Geoff Andrews, who has agreed to lead the Advancement Committee in successfully achieving our financial goals over the next five years. We hold our first full Council meeting at the end of January and look forward to working with the Council on initiatives that guide the BNT into its next chapter.”
To learn more about the BNT’s role in managing national parks, protecting wildlife, and informing environmental policy, please visit its website: www.bnt.bs, and follow its various social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Turks and Caicos, January 13, 2025 – The Marine Branch of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force successfully intercepted two illegal sloops within the last 24 hours. In the first incident, at around 2:25 a.m. yesterday (January 12), the Maritime Operations Center tracked a suspicious target in the Bird Rock, Long Bay area.
Officers of the Marine Branch were informed, and at 2:35 a.m., they spotted a dark blue wooden vessel with two outboard engines carrying several individuals.
The illegal sloop was intercepted, and officers discovered TWENTY-SEVEN (27) illegal migrants- TWENTY-ONE (21) males, including two
minors and SIX (6) females. All individuals were handed over to the TCI Border Force for processing.
Shortly after 1 a.m. today, the Marine Branch, alongside the TCI Regiment, received information that a blue 38-foot wooden Haitian vessel with two outboard engines was in TCI waters.
The vessel was located and intercepted.
Onboard the vessel was ONE HUNDRED and TWENTY-ONE (121) persons – ONE HUNDRED and FOUR (104) males –including a minor and SEVENTEEN (17) females.
Assistant Commissioner (ag) Mat Newton said, “I am grateful to our partners—TCI Border Force and TCI Regiment—for their assistance and support in successfully processing the illegal migrants intercepted by the police. This shows that the layers of security in place are increasingly effective, and we continue to build our defensive measures to tackle this type of crime.”
The RTCIPF asks the public to notify the closest police station, contact 911, the Serious Crime Unit at 231-1842, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477, and anonymously give any information on illegal activity.
Additionally, persons are encouraged to download the CrimeStoppers P3 app and share information anonymously.
Photo Credit: RTCIP
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