The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. John F Kennedy

It has long been accepted in St James that we would have to sacrifice some of our democratic human rights in order to safeguard our lives and, by extension, the life of the nation. To many of us, this willing derogation of rights has become necessary because no other crime-fighting tools have been effective.

The exponential increase in the St James murder rate following the cessation of the January 2018 to January 2019 state of emergency (SOE) proves that either we have no other alternative or we simply do not know how to tame the crime beast without rights suppression.

While we westerners willingly subscribe to the derogation of our human rights, we should never subscribe to the degradation of our person. The human rights violations and inhumane treatment of detainees and their families during the SOE 2018 were visible from the first week. If the political leadership on both sides had taken the time to listen to the voices of the people we would not have needed the delayed report from the public defender to bring national attention to these issues. Those who had eyes to see should have seen. Those who had ears to hear should have heard. Those who had hearts should have found the compassion within to decisively react.

Let history not repeat itself in this renewed and extended operation which now encompasses St James, Hanover and Westmoreland.

Between January 19 and 28 of 2018 I was on assignment in St James for CVM Television and these are some of the recorded findings:

In excess of 50 individuals, predominantly women, who had attended upon the Freeport Police Station in search of loved ones were locked out without any explanation. They had not behaved in an unruly manner and still were unable to get any information pertaining to their detained relatives between days one and four of the SOE.

Quite a few of those awaiting information were workers of both political parties, who stated on January 20 and 21 that no one from either political party had come to speak with them, and they felt slighted by the police and the system.

In this regard, I would remind our leaders that it is their mandate across the divide to act as the representatives of all people, especially those in vulnerable situations such as these.

It is evident from the SOE 2018 status quo that it is incumbent on the State to ensure that there are constant systems of welfare checks and balances where rights are derogated. This is absolutely necessary in the safeguarding of our human rights, as wherever there is a slight there must be constant representations to ensure that, as much as possible, the tenets of democracy are upheld.

The lack of proper systems throughout the SOE in 2018 manifested daily throughout the first two weeks. As evidenced by the report of the public defender, this carried on long after its inception.

Taking up the mantle, the Cornwall Bar Association took affirmative action in aid of detainees who were not being treated or processed in a manner commensurate with their human rights. The association, without fee, acted as liaison for the relatives of the detained and spent numerous hours interviewing detainees, who informed that they were not allowed to shower for up to four days. Some of the detainees complained that they had not been given anything to eat. According to then president of the Cornwall Bar Stacy-Ann Young, the detainees were being held in an “inhumane and unsafe manner” in an area that was an annex to the cells described by attorneys as “a shed area”, a part of it being open to the elements. There was also the view that though the regulations state that detainees can be held for up to seven days, this should not occur without the provision of proper accommodation, access to food, and proper arrangements with regard to hygiene for every single detainee.

Safeguarding personal information is also of great importance, as it must be ensured that the fingerprints and photographic information garnered at the time of detention should be kept in a manner which is above reproach with a security system which should be almost infallible.

The Cornwall Bar Association at the time was also concerned that there was contravention of section 30 of the regulations, which states that an individual can only be detained or arrested without a warrant where their “behaviour is of such a nature as to give responsible grounds for suspecting that he has:

(a) acted or is acting in a manner prejudicial to the public safety; or

(b) has committed, is committing an offence against [the] regulations”.

This means that at no time should individuals be detained in a wholesale, arbitrary or indiscriminate manner. This concern was also supported by several members of the public, but articulated differently. One taxi driver, who dubbed the SOE “Operation Clean Sweep”, opined that: “The minister of justice and the prime minister need to know that everybody in Montego Bay is not a criminal…”

The prime minister must ensure that his comment while on a tour on January 27, 2018, that “detention is done where necessary for strategic purposes”, becomes a commitment.

The country must wear lens of humanitarianism and not forget the psychological and physical impact which the SOE will have on the daily life of every citizen, particularly the potential negative impact on the detained and their families. By the second week of SOE 2018 some detainees had lost their jobs due to their inability to communicate with their employers having been held for periods in excess of 48 hours. The majority of the detained are male, and though we have a historic culture of male absence from the family, this is exacerbated during the detention period. When the men are removed from the family for several days there is economic strife and family destabilisation. This was evidenced in one story recorded during my assignment of a young mother whose babyfather had left the house to get powdered milk for their infant. He did not return home and was unable to contact his family. The mother attended upon the station to see if she could retrieve her child’s father and the milk.

Additionally, commuters, particularly hospitality and hotel workers who work late hours, found it difficult to get home in the evenings as public transportation was sparse after hours. Small businessmen, shopkeepers and restaurateurs lost income due to early closing hours. Though they were happy to do so for a better St James, it was and will be a hard sacrifice.

Additionally, we cannot and must never forget the sacrifice of the joint team of security forces and the impact of the SOE on them and their families. They deserve our utmost respect and support.

The 2018 SOE statistics show two things of paramount importance that are yet to be reconciled but which we must reconcile:

1. that it led to a substantial decrease in murder, crime and violence; and

2. that the majority of detainees were released without charge.

As western Jamaica sacrifices its human rights through wilful derogation in the national socio- and macroeconomic interest, let us not be degraded in the process.

Ashley-Ann Foster is an attorney-at-law. Send comments to the Observer or ashfoslaw@gmail.com.