A bill which seeks to abolish preliminary enquiries will be tabled in Parliament later this week, Prime Minister P J Patterson said yesterday. Patterson told the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House that the Committal Proceedings Bill will abolish the existing procedure of preliminary examinations in cases of indictable offences and put in place a new committal proceedings regime.

The prime minister also announced that five other bills will be tabled in the House of Representatives next month, following approval from the legislation committee of the Cabinet which has met on four occasions with the full co-operation of the chief parliamentary counsel and senior civil servants.

These are bills amending the Evidence Act, to provide for television-linked testimony and to make computer-based evidence more easily admissible; the Larceny Act, to deal with extortion; and the Interception of Communications Act. In addition, bills making provision for notice of alibi evidence to be given before trial and for the establishment of a civilian police oversight authority are also included.

Yesterday’s announcement fulfills a promise made by the prime minister during talks in May with Opposition Leader Bruce Golding on a legislative programme to combat increased crime and violence.

The debate on the effectiveness of preliminary enquiries has, however, been on the table since the 1980s and was raised again recently because of the rising level of crime in the country that has resulted in more than 840 murders so far this year.

“I think that the system of preliminary examinations, which we inherited from the United Kingdom, is no longer serving the original purposes, and the practices which have evolved in preliminary examinations have really eroded the beneficial features of proceeding in this way,” said the prime minister.

“Those lengthy hearings result in increased legal costs and a loss of trial time. And, in our case, we can’t ignore the fact that there have been attacks upon witnesses, after they have testified at the preliminary enquiry leading, in some cases, to loss of lives.”

He said that the abolition of preliminary enquiries should, among other things, subject witnesses to less exposure in the criminal justice system.

“The statement that now will go forward to the Circuit Court for trial must be taken by police officers not below the rank of sergeant, and they must be taken in the presence of a justice of the peace and sworn to, so that any departures from that can result in charges of perjury and also ensure that the testimony that is forthcoming has not been obtained by force, direct or undue promise,” Patterson added.

The bill, he said, will make it unnecessary for witnesses to appear before a resident magistrate. It is expected to accommodate expeditious trials and remove some of the burdens on the machinery of justice.