Former Chief Magistrate Walsh says she is up to the challenges that running the Office of the DPP will bring

Joanne Walsh says she is up for the challenges that come with managing the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), as her official tenure commenced today, February 28.

Walsh, who has given up her position as Chief Magistrate for the time being, will serve as the Acting of DPP, becoming the first woman and the first national to fill this prominent position.

This is not her first time working in that office, as she was employed there for 14 years and last worked as a Crown Counsel I.

In the interim, Dexter Wason, who presides over the Traffic Court, will act in the position of Chief Magistrate, taking care of the administrative affairs of the court.

These changes came about after the current DPP, Anthony Armstrong, opted to take special leave, having been found “guilty of professional misconduct” in his native Jamaica.

One resident tells REAL News that he considers Magistrate Conliffe Clarke to have been snubbed, since he believes that Clarke should have been the natural successor to Walsh.