“You have pledged to uphold the law” – principal magistrate to new prosecutors
Thirty-two officers from the Police Prosecutors’ Course and 17 officers from the Elementary Police Prosecutors’ Course (EPPC) for Station Sergeants graduated on Friday from Nations School of Law.
The three-month EPPC sees its first cohort of graduates while the six-month Police Prosecutors Course saw its second cohort of graduates.
Offered by Nations Inc and certified by ABMA Education–a UK-based certifying and quality assurance body for academic and professional qualifications–these courses are designed to equip police prosecutors with the knowledge and skills to effectively and efficiently represent the state at the Magistrate’s Court in criminal prosecution.
Some of the prosecutors who graduated from the program
“You have pledged to uphold the law, to seek justice for victims and to hold accountable those who break the law,” said Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty during the graduation ceremony at the school’s New Market location.
“As you move forward in your career, you will face many challenges and obstacles, but you must always remain true to your principles and values [and] continue to demonstrate professionalism, integrity and commitment to fairness and justice,” she added.
In delivering the Charge to the graduates, court prosecutor within the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Kevin London urged graduates to understand that they are responsible for ensuring that justice is served, which does not necessarily mean to secure a conviction but to ensure that the perpetrator is properly punished.
He highlighted several points for the police officers to keep in mind as they venture out to fulfil their new roles: focus their attention on their statutory duty, know their case file, know their witnesses and know how the Court operates.
The completion of the courses marks two new cohorts of ranks that are now well versed in understanding the processes of prosecuting criminal action before the Magistrates Courts within Guyana and seeks to boost the Force’s Prosecutorial arm across the 12 Regional Police Divisions.
The graduates now hold certificates that are internationally recognized and accepted by the University of London as an entry requirement for their LLB programme.
Of the several graduates recognised for their exemplary performances throughout the programme, three who undertook the Police Prosecutors Course were awarded the Top Paper award for gaining full marks on their final papers: Madava Barnes, Danilla Dow and Carl Pedro.
In 2022, 29 police officers graduated from the first Police Prosecuting Course conducted by Nations Inc.
The continuation of these courses is in keeping with the first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed by GPF and Nations University in October 2021 to conduct prosecutorial training for Police ranks.
