PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) says it does not support the moves by the Keith Rowley administration to extend by another two years, the Bail (Amendment) Acts and the Anti-Gang Act 2011.

Parliament is now debating the legislation that the government said is necessary in order to allow the police to deal with the escalating crime situation here. The bills first gained parliamentary approval during the tenure of the Kamla Persad-Bissessar- led coalition People’s Partnership administration. But the opposition has said it wants to hold talks with the government before agreeing to any extension on the legislation.

In a two-page statement, LATT President Reginald Armour, SC, said, “In the discharge of its mandate to protect and assist the public in Trinidad and Tobago in all matters relating to the law, including to promote, maintain and support the administration of justice and the rule of law, the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago has maintained a clear and consistent position on the bail and anti-gang legislation”.

He said that in April 2015 the association had advised then attorney general, Garvin Nicholas, that “given the constitutional guarantees of reasonable bail, coupled with the presumption of innocence and the right to be brought promptly before an appropriate judicial authority, the association considered the proposed legislation then to be a disproportionate measure”.

Armour said the association stated even then that in the face of firearms and firearms-related offences, the 2015 amendments to the Bail Act amounted to a denial of a person’s constitutional rights.

“The Law Association called then for the repeal of the bail legislation,” he said.

According to LATT, since their initial introduction, neither piece of legislation has acted as a deterrent to the commission of serious crime, nor has there been any explanation nor statistics presented to show that either piece of legislation has in essence reduced the crime rate.