ATTORNEY GENERAL Reginald Armour says the complaint by Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard for more staff "is an unsatisfactory explanation for under-performance of the DPP."

Armour, the line minister for the Office of the DPP, raised the issue for the first time publicly of the DPP's under-performance in a WhatsApp response to queries from the media regarding the unoccupation of a building on Park Street, Port of Spain rented by the government for the Office of the DPP. The building remains unoccupied for almost three years because of security concerns raised by the police Special Branch.

Armour said he intends to issue a full statement on the matter later this week.

"The issue of a lack of resources impacts all of our institutions and is not limited to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP is not being deliberately starved of resources, as indeed the reality of the unoccupied Park Street Office shows. I can see no political benefit in the Government deliberately under-resourcing the DPP."

"That is an unsatisfactory explanation for under-performance of the DPP. Other critical arms of the criminal justice system are also operating below capacity, yet far more effectively. We need to critically examine what are the systemic issues that are hampering the performance of the DPP's office," he said.

Last Wednesday, DPP Roger Gaspard explained that his office was hamstrung with "an acute and chronic" staff shortage that affected its ability to prosecute cases in every court in the country.

He said during a radio interview that his office has 58 attorneys, including some with little or no court experience adding that there is a Cabinet note of 2013 that proposed the DPP should have 137 attorneys.

In an apparent response, Prime Minister Rowley at a political meeting in Barataria on Thursday said: 'None of us in this country have all that we need. But you got to make the most with what you have.'

Rowley also said then a building on Park Street, Port of Spain was sourced by the government for the DPP's Office but it remained unoccupied because of various requests to make it more secure.

He said in addressing issues at the DPP's Office, particularly its lack of space to accommodate lawyers, Cabinet took a decision to rent the building, which is shared with Republic Bank.

Rowley said the landlord of the building had told the government to stop making adjustments as the three-year lease is coming to an end.

On Friday, Gaspard said he was not going to comment on the issue until after receiving advice.

Sunday Newsday was informed Special Branch of the police service has identified several security risks at the site and have made recommendations to install bullet-proofing on the eastern side and other security measures.

Meanwhile, head of the Criminal Bar Association Israel Khan is calling Gaspard to clear the air on the reasons why his office has not been able to occupy a multi-storey building