Two arrested during St Catherine Traffic Ticket Day

Two men were arrested on Wednesday after police said they attempted to defraud motorists by offering to fast-track their court appearance during the St Catherine Traffic Ticket Day initiative at the Spanish Town Parish Court.

Investigators allege the men approached motorists waiting in long lines and claimed they could arrange for them to see a judge more quickly if they paid a fee, despite having no authority to do so. The special court session, organised by the Court Administration Division (CAD), is aimed at reducing the backlog of traffic tickets in the parish, with approximately 20,000 motorists expected to take advantage.

"During the course of the day we had reason to arrest two persons, two males that we believed were conspiring to defraud some persons, trying to hasten the process of getting through," Senior Superintendent Hopton Nicholson told THE STAR.

"Our investigators are conducting further investigations for that. Two persons are in custody and the investigations will continue. We are looking at larceny by trick and conspiracy to commit that said offence."

Nicholson confirmed that at least one person has so far come forward, but detectives are still determining the full scope of the alleged scheme.

"We implore persons when they are coming to these areas to go through the proper channels and do not try to cut the line with the facilitation of anyone on the ground," Nicholson said. "The members who are assigned to the court are the only ones authorised to deal with the matters here at the court."

Despite the incident, Nicholson said the day's operations went smoothly overall, with officers deployed to manage traffic and maintain order around the court compound.

The traffic ticket initiative allows motorists with tickets dating as far back as February 1, 2018, who failed to pay or appear before the court, to have their matters addressed. The initiative drew long lines of motorists, and Director of Client Services, Communication and Information at the CAD, Kadiesh Jarrett Fletcher, said the large turnout was expected, as part of the court's strategy for processing the cases.

"It was intentional to have so many persons during the day so that we could accommodate the persons who have 50 tickets and over for night court," she explained of the 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. session.

Jarrett Fletcher also revealed that some motorists had accumulated hundreds of unpaid tickets, with at least one individual carrying as many as 600 outstanding violations.

"If persons don't show up today (yesterday), we will be issuing warrants," she warned.

Among those attending the initiative was taxi operator Fred, who operates along the Spanish Town to downtown Kingston route. He said he came to settle the tickets to avoid further legal trouble.

"I was slated to come at 5 p.m., I have 10 tickets outstanding," he said. However, he raised concerns about possible record-keeping issues.

"Hear the problem now, and it not just me. Every taxi man having the same issue. When dem give yuh yuh paper, sometime they can't find back some of the receipts so we pay it back all over again, it is like a duplicate," he said.

"I don't know if there is a backlog in the system, but me feel like mi pay dem ticket here already."

Despite the concern, he said he decided to clear the tickets to avoid any future summons.

"As of today mi done wid them. Mi done. Mi nuh want nuh summons pan mi name. Mi want a clean record so me just come and done wid it," he said.