Anti-crime bills passed

GOVERNMENT’S six controversial anti-crime bills, which went through rigorous scrutiny in Parliament, were yesterday passed by the Senate despite Opposition senators maintaining that the provisions, in instances, would trample on the fundamental rights of citizens.

The bills were piloted in parts, with Security Minister Senator Dwight Nelson taking charge of the act to amend the Bail Act; the act to make interim provision to extend the powers of arrest and detention under Sections 50B and 50F of the Constabulary Force Act; and the Act to amend the Firearms Act.

Attorney General and Justice Minister Senator Dorothy Lightbourne piloted the amendments to the Offences Against the Person Act; the act to amend the Parole Act; and the act to make interim provision in relation to the grant of bail in specified circumstances.

Opposition senators entered the chambers late — with the exception of Senator Naval Clarke, who was the only one present when the Senate began at 10:33 — and missed their chance to air their opinions on the bills piloted by Nelson.

Opposition Senator K D Knight’s request to have the Firearms Bill recommitted was turned down by Government members. Knight, in voicing his discontent, said that decision showed "a kind of mean-spiritedness which did not augur well for the future".

The issue of the absolute prohibition of bail until after 60 days was a major issue of contention, with Opposition senators arguing that the provision would be a breach of fundamental human rights.

"I am not one of those who will condemn a Government for using its majority to pass legislation unless there is fraudulent use of that majority, but the denial of liberty cannot be whimsically done. I do not accept the provision in relation to 60 days. It seems quite arbitrary to me; remove the 60 days and even though it offends my sense of justice and the constitution, keep the (proposal) of placing the burden on the accused to show why he ought to be granted bail," Knight said, brushing aside insistence by Government senators that the Opposition's Dr Peter Phillips had been the one to propose the period.

Knight told the Senate that past legislation such as the Gun Court Act and the Suppression of Crime Act, which were enacted to curb rampant criminality with harsh sentencing and detention provisions, had failed.

"It's not too late to make adjustments... this militates against rehabilitation," he said, saying that while it was urgent that the bills be passed it was necessary that the public accept the measures before it was forced on them.

"We fully understand that approaches, stringent approaches even, must be employed in the struggle to take Jamaica to a place in which people live in peace and love; we are committed to that, and we understand that this 60-day bail proposal has been encouraged but it's our duty to tell them that the route being employed by the Government is unconstitutional," Opposition Senator A J Nicholson said in his presentation. According to Nicholson, "the journey of the bills had been unhappy and unhelpful".

Meanwhile, in a rather telling presentation, Government Senator Marlene Malahoo Forte acknowledged that the provisions were in instances "draconian" and a rather "difficult policy position", but said they were "worth experimenting to see whether or not they would assist in the necessary fight against crime and violence".

Colleague Government Senator Warren Newby, for his part, while admitting to some "degree of trepidation" over the additional powers of arrest and detention given to the police in the bills, intimated that the Opposition was blinkered by partisan considerations and urged them to "abandon party lines."

After the valiant fight put up by the Opposition, Senator Lightbourne, in closing the debate on the measures, emphasised that the bills were developed with bipartisan support and had received the endorsement of the Opposition as being extraordinary measures for extraordinary times.

Senator Lightbourne said it was with some amount of disbelief that she listened to the objections raised by the Opposition since that time. In attempting to address concerns that wholesale detention of persons would clog or overcrowd lock-ups, Lightbourne presented bail statistics which showed that of the 1,193 persons charged last year, some 609 were out on bail while 139 who had been offered bail had declined.

Needless to say, when it was time for the vote to be taken on the bills the Opposition, true to their position, voted against the provisions. The votes were, however, defeated eight to three in favour of the Government.

Government Members of Parliament in the Lower House just last month used their parliamentary majority to push through the six bills, with support from the Opposition on only one of the measures. The bills were passed with 10 to 28 votes in favour of the Government then.

The measures, which have been under debate since 2008, had been hindered because of differences in opinion over several provisions between Government and Opposition.