Llewellyn

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn, QC, has been making great strides towards the improvement of the justice system since being appointed Jamaica's first female DPP on March 5 last year. Caroline Hay, deputy DPP, described Llewellyn as extremely approachable.

"She ushered into the office a management style that is full of life and excitement," Hay said.

The Office of the DPP has seen a year of "restructuring and refashioning, so that the prosecuting machinery is always ready to go to trial," Hay said, as she reflected on the 12 months with Llewellyn at the helm.

"It has been a lot of work, but it has been fun."

According to Hay, Llewellyn was always willing at a moment's notice to roll up her sleeves or don her robe and work with Crown Counsel.

"She is results-oriented and takes pride in Crown Counsel's successes, but she is also there for you if you fail," she said.

Kathy Pyke, a former prosecutor, says Llewellyn was the best person for the job because of her knowledge of the DPP's office and her leadership and personal qualities.

Quintessential mentor

She also described Llewellyn as the quintessential mentor, as she managed to lift morale of her staff and make great strides to improve performance.

Llewellyn said when she took over her main priority was to increase staff.

She said prosecutors were in court for many weeks with very little time to do desk work.

"The prosecutors were on a treadmill going straight to burnout," she recalled.

The DPP also spoke of the management committees and units she established. Those units, she said, were to help streamline the mandate of accountability and responsibility.

She said, in terms of mentoring, she made sure she communicated the vision and the way forward.

In order to reduce the workload on the prosecutors, she said she crafted a proposal to the Ministry of Justice for former prosecutors to assist with prosecutions, and was able to recruit eight former prosecutors.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com