The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 300 long-standing criminal matters have been identified as “cold cases” by prosecutors, with plans underway to dispose of the majority of them during 2026, officials said.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions disposed of 246 matters in the Supreme Court during 2025, an increase from 194 cases completed in 2024. He disclosed the figures during the Opening of the Legal Year 2026.

Mr Pinder said the matters included cases involving murder, armed robbery, sexual offences, firearms offences and other serious crimes, and were resolved through convictions, acquittals, plea agreements and the discontinuance of cases that no longer met the interests of justice.

He said the office, which is staffed by 48 attorneys, continues to focus on efficiency, backlog reduction and capacity building, adding that the increased use of plea agreements has helped to reduce delays, ease court congestion and spare complainants further trauma.

The Attorney General also reported that 268 Voluntary Bills of Indictment were prepared during the year, allowing matters to proceed more expeditiously before the Supreme Court.

In December 2025, previously reported figures showed the office had completed 204 criminal matters at that point in the year, with the majority ending in plea agreements or being discontinued.

Of those cases, 63 were resolved by plea agreement, 73 were discontinued, 27 resulted in convictions and 37 ended in acquittals. Five matters were closed following the death of a defendant.

A monthly breakdown showed fluctuations in case activity. May was the busiest month, with 27 matters completed, including 13 plea agreements.

January recorded the slowest pace, with seven matters concluded. Activity increased through the middle of the year, with August producing the highest number of convictions in a single month at six.

September nearly matched May’s pace, with 26 matters resolved, while November and December were comparatively quieter.

Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier also addressed concerns about sentencing and plea agreements yesterday, pointing to efforts to resolve long-standing cases within the system.

“At the latter part of 2025 the office have identified some 329 matters that were in what we call cold cases,” she said.

“And so we’re looking forward to moving those matters, by disposing of the majority of them in 2026 and so you will see the Chief Justice has undertaken that he will do the fall over in 2026 and those matters will be disposed of.”