#Kingston, February 16, 2025 – The Judiciary is to introduce digital recording of criminal proceedings in the country’s trial courts at the start of the easter term, beginning in April, to improve efficiency and the timely delivery of judgements.
Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, told a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (February 14), that this move will, among other things, lead to transcripts from trial courts being produced in less time.
“Our two trial courts are the Supreme Court and the Parish Courts [and] the records coming from those courts, particularly the parish courts, are handwritten. We’re now in the age of digital recording and the ability to take the audio recording, put it into software and generate a transcript. The process has become easier and faster,” he pointed out.
The transcript is the record of the proceedings in the trial court that must be produced and sent to the Court of Appeal whenever there is an appeal. The Chief Justice further noted that the introduction of digital recording will improve accuracy in the transcripts and allow for easy continuity by court reporters.
“Court reporters globally and here are required to have at least 180 to 200 words per minute with 96 per cent accuracy. That is really the standard, and that takes time to develop. So, it is really speed and accuracy, and part of that is developing the dictionary. The dictionary is not standard, it is unique to each court reporter… that is why court reporter A can’t pick up the machine of court reporter B and go to court,” said the Chief Justice.
“If the court reporter resigns or leaves a job or retires, and the transcript that is converting all the characters into text, as in English or Patois, is not done, it becomes challenging for someone else to come along and produce the transcript from those characters,” he added.
The Judiciary is currently working with international partners to outfit and prepare courtrooms over time to facilitate digital recordings.
Chief Justice Sykes pointed out that this transition from a pen and ink-based system to a digital one will necessitate a change in court infrastructure as well as the approach taken by officers of the court.
“That is going to require a change in behaviour, a change in culture, a change in the way that the courtroom is set up, so that each microphone, for example, has its own channel, so you can isolate that particular speaker to hear what it is that they are saying. The courtroom environment would have to be as silent as the grave, so you don’t have a lot of interference – silencing the benches in court and, where necessary, soundproofing some of the courtrooms,” said the Chief Justice.
The production of a transcript is expected to take a matter of hours, rather than months or up to years under the current system.
The recruitment and training of officers who will operate and interface with the new technology is under way and is expected to conclude in April before it comes on stream.
Contact: Jermi-Lee Nelson
Release: JIS
Photo: Dave Reid
