Chief Justice McCalla, we hope, has been able to gain a better handle on the number of cases that is outstanding in the Jamaican courts than has this newspaper and other persons who have tried to get definitive numbers.

Such data are elusive, but we know that the backlog is far too many, so much so as to hurt the reputation of justice in Jamaica.

Indeed, Justice McCalla, as this newspaper has reported, recently launched the latest initiative to move cases in the criminal system. She has given defence lawyers who have clients in custody until April to indicate whether they are desirous of taking 'a certain course'.

If that 'certain course' is adopted, the Chief Justice suggests, then those cases can be brought forward to be dealt with during the week of April 14.

The course, to which we suspect that Justice McCalla refers, is a plea of guilt to the charge of a lesser offence. In such an event, these cases will be easy to be disposed of, especially if prosecutors agree to amend charges to lesser offences and the judges agree to such pleas. If this works, more than a few dockets will clear the courts.

But it is not only at the Supreme Court that there is a problem. Indeed, only this week Resident Magistrate Glen Brown of the Corporate Area Magistrate's Court complained to the new Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn about the number of cases that continue to clog his court. Many of these have to do with gun cases.

Often, the magistrate said, people remain in custody for years. Cases stall because of an absence of witnesses. Many of these cases involve preliminary inquiries at the level of magistrate's before moving to higher courts.

As the saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied. But as Mr Brown noted, magistrates find themselves between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Prosecutors do drop the cases and if magistrates offer accused criminals bail, they are lambasted if and when these persons return before the courts charged with other offences.

Usefully, Ms Llewellyn has promised to work with the courts, including assigning prosecutors to work with clerks, to offer guidance on how they might proceed with some cases. But this does not go far enough. A far more comprehensive and aggressive approach is needed beyond an administrative restructuring of the system that may take years to complete.

Justice McCalla's initiative may have sown the seed of something. From this distance, what she has proposed seems to have a hint of plea bargaining, which has been on and off Jamaica's agenda for a long time. We think it should be on - and formalised.

This newspaper supports appropriate legislation to allow prosecutors and defence attorneys to come to agreements, sanctioned by judges. The benefits could be significant: pushing some cases faster through the courts and in others, providing an incentive for an accused to testify against a bigger criminal.

We feel, too, that it may useful to end the system of preliminary inquiries in most, if not all circumstances, where they are used. If investigators have a case, then go straight to trial. This would save time and demand better investigation by the police

And as we expect to happen under Ms Llewellyn, a new robustness by the office of the DPP will help.