Despite the callous and belligerent attitude of some of us towards guarding against the spread of the novel coronavirus, the majority of us have, in our own way, taken various steps to unite in the fight against this pandemic. Since our first reported case of the virus on March 10 2020, we have had, to date, five fatalities. This number pales in comparison to the number of fatalities over the same period arising from criminal activities.

Sadly the same resolve and spirit that we individually have towards the elimination of the virus has never been a feature in the drive towards minimising criminal activity. The move towards reducing the spread of the virus has even seen innovative ways through the use of technology to prevent the spread of the disease. This is in reference to electronic conferencing.

Apart from its increased use in continuous education and commerce, it has also been extended to accommodate the continued functioning of the administration of our justice system. Precedent has been set with the recent announcement by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes that the hearing of bail applications can now be facilitated by electronic means. This practice is one which should, in the aftermath of the epidemic, remain as a permanent option to be utilised. It would obviate the need for daily mass transportation by the police of accused individuals from clusters of custody centres to court. This is especially so on diverse dates when bail applications are to be considered or administrative matters pertaining to the cases are to be dealt with. Very often the start of court is delayed owing to the late arrival of those held in custody as a result of a limited number of police vehicles or other limited resources.

With the permanent feature of bail applications by electronic means being a part of the criminal justice system, police vehicles and personnel, otherwise assigned to transport custody persons, could be used directly towards crime prevention and detection.

Whilst recognising that the employment of technology would greatly assist within the administration of our criminal justice system, one must not lose sight of its limitation. Against this background, a recent media report that our Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang is giving consideration to the facilitation of electronic link between attorneys and their clients in custody during the period of the curfew orders is most impractical and undesirable. The impracticality of this comes from the fact that there is a presumption that all police stations across the island, including the remote ones, are equipped with the technology necessary to facilitate this. This is simply not the case. It is more practical and more constitutionally correct to allow attorneys to be exempted under the curfew orders for direct accessibility to their clients. As to the undesirability of the minister’s consideration, it comes from the fact that such an arrangement is likely to raise concerns regarding the sanctity of privileged communication between an attorney and his client.

The mandate of the Ministry of National Security is better served to press for compulsory legislative framework for use of closed circuit televisions (CCTVs) in public spaces and business enterprises that cater to the needs of all. This remains an imperative and could easily be incorporated under the JamaicaEye initiative which remains a voluntary system for participants. The latest recognition of the utility of CCTVs is exhibited by Falmouth’s Mayor Collen Gager in his call for the implementation of the widespread use of them. His call was precipitated by a reported $14-million robbery and theft of a licensed firearm that occurred in a town centre in that parish recently. Thankfully, with that incident, all the victims were accounted for in its aftermath. Regrettably, the Jasmine Deans of this country, who have been abducted, still remain unaccounted for. One wonders if such situations would be different had there been CCTVs within our public spaces.

This consideration aside, addressing our present predicament with the virus, had there been mandatory legislation for CCTVs, the tasks of monitoring the various orders under the Disaster Risk Management Act would have been made much easier. Instant breaches of the curfew order would be detectable, as well as congregation of people beyond the limited number as now prescribed by law. The practice of social distancing would also be easily monitored.

All in all, the state of affairs as they now exist in our country reminds us that necessity is the mother of all inventions. It is, therefore, time to put this in action and move forward in this age of technology towards the preservation of good health, safety, and proper governance of Jamaica, land we love.

Peter C Champagnie is a Queen’s Counsel in Jamaica. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or to peter.champagnie@gmail.com.