Recent criticism for local lawyers that police and prosecutors are slow in preparing files for disclosure for defence lawyers and ultimately to the courts are "grandstanding" the Islands top prosecutor said this weekend.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Khamisi Tokunbo, says he is a man of few words and believes firmly the adage that actions, rather than rhetoric, should speak louder than words.

And after finally getting his team of Crown counsel's completed, he admitted that theory has been the motto in the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Mr. Tokunbo has all but completed the process of modernising the prosecution of criminals and serious traffic offenders with his department assuming the role of the Police Prosecutions office and its officers who although highly trained are not lawyers.

The DPP's office has come in for criticism in alleged delays in presenting investigative papers before the courts but Mr. Tokunbo scoffs at the idea the Crown is delaying intentionally.

"You hear negative comments being made in court about the prosecutions didn't serve the papers and stuff like that," he said, "but other than that there isn't anything negative being reported about this office and I am pleased to say that, in fact we are doing quite well, we have had a successful year since I have been in office, things have been going along quite well.

"The comments or things that you hear are really just grandstanding by persons who are seeking to grab headlines in cases of marketing reasons or other reasons."

Mr. Tokunbo said one of the goals was to bring the job of prosecuting cases under one roof and he noted that taking over the reigns from Police Prosecutions has been a smooth transition.

"That is a done deal," he said. "It's pretty much history. You don't see Police in court prosecuting now. If you do see Police there, they are there for traffic matters. But 99.5 percent of prosecutions are done by this office. So for all intent and purposes, we have taken over the presentations of prosecutions in court."

He added: "Unfortunately even lawyers as well as reporters and the public tend to blur the lines between Police and prosecutors and think that we are one and the same or the Crown is both the Police and the prosecutor.

"We're not, we're actually two separate institutions with clearly defined roles, but we have to work hand in hand so that the two agencies effectively carry out their responsibilities.

"So, often what you hear is that the Crown hasn't served papers or has refused to provide the defence with certain information that they have requested, that's not necessarily accurate or true, because we are seen as one in the same. That is just grandstanding rhetoric that takes place for a number of different reasons - usually to get publicity to promote their own agenda."

And in light of recent criticism about the delays of producing timely paper work in certain cases, most recently the murder case involving Tekle Mallory, Mr. Tokunbo said: "In terms of filing paperwork and the time that it takes, that is a difficult thing to achieve. It's not something that we do, it's something that Police do.

"They have to put together a file in an orderly readable and presentable manner. We only have one Police force and these same officers who are putting together a file on a case that may involve a number of witnesses and a number of items of evidence are the same officers that are called upon to still detect and enforce and investigate simultaneously while they are putting together a file - so they are stretched.

"That tends to cause a delay in completing the compilation of the papers in any particular case. But that happens every now and then and that is nothing way out of the ordinary - but one will be drawn to look at it because counsel on the other side are making noise about it every now and then."

Led by Principle Crown counsel Dorien Taylor, Senior Crown counsel Vinette Graham-Allen, Crown counsel's Juan Wolffe, Cindy Clarke, Graveney Bannister, Charmaine Smith, Oonagh Vaucrosson, Wayne Caines and the newest edition, Anthony Blackman, he assured that the public's interests in criminal and civil matters have been and will be well represented.

He said: "As far as new staff is concerned we only really have one new member that has joined us recently and that is Mr. Anthony Blackman. He joined us in the middle of June. He's come from Barbados and he's a former Police officer and an experienced lawyer in the criminal and civil fields.

"Mr. Caines is also new with us, having been with us for eight months of pupillage. Other than that we are up to full compliment with our staff and for the most part we have been carrying out our job quietly and successfully. We are concerned simply with results and quality of work."

And of the fact that there is a struggle to get local lawyers to join the Government legal sector, he said: "What happens is that we tend to produce quite a bit of the better lawyers and they end up going into the private sector.

"The private sector sees what we have and they offer more attractive salaries - but this has been a constant challenge that the Government legal services has. But it's not unique to us, it's a challenge that Government legal services throughout the world have, in recruiting and retaining the best of staff."

Mr. Tokunbo noted that although he is working behind the scenes at the DPP, and not as active in the courtroom as he once was, he does not miss an opportunity to pop in and show a silent presence of support for his staff.

"I am going to support my players and I'm going to observe my players in the way they conduct themselves and present their cases," he said, "and I will come back and discuss it with them if there is anything that needs to be commented on, positively or negatively.

"My counsel know to expect me appearing unannounced. I find it quite a help to me.

"But on the wider front, it's about keeping abreast about the way the system is working, what the magistrate is doing, what the Police are doing and I do that in all the courts - Magistrates', Supreme and the Court of Appeal."

And in the meantime, he said he is looking to take an active role in the recent swell of murder cases and he did not rule out being seen as lead counsel in the various high profile cases.

"I still will be going to court," he said. "Primarily in the more important cases - cases that involve major public interest. I imagine you will see me in the Darrell case, the Ice Queen case and the decomposed body case."

Mr. Tokunbo said he is in the midst of completing his first year as the Director of Public Prosecutions - having served as Acting Director for three years.

And he said he is pleased that he has managed to accomplish most of the things he set out to do - all the while keeping the naysayers at bay.

Currently Mr. Tokunbo said he is concerned primarily with the accommodations of the DDP's office. And his next task is getting the second floor Global House Building renovations completed as soon as possible.

He pointed out that the more comfortable the working conditions for his legal team, mean higher morale and more efficient productivity. He said he is also pressed to find administrative support, noting that the ratio of support staff to professionals is an issue that needs to be rectified.