OPPOSITION Leader Portia Simpson Miller yesterday endorsed the Government’s efforts to unseat criminals and crush gangs, but warned that speedily passing the six anti-crime bills into law in their present state to assist this thrust could be a costly mistake.
“We must overthrow the states within states — the garrison states; because it is there that some oppressors of the poor find room to operate,” Simpson Miller told Parliament during debate on the bills.
“The dons might operate through garrisons, but they reside alongside the rich and powerful in our verdant hills. Recent events have confirmed this, as the security forces have sought alleged drug- and gun-dealers in both downtown and uptown communities,” Simpson Miller added.
“If we are to truly tackle crime, we must be prepared to find the criminals wherever they are. If they are in the inner city, find them; if they are in the boardrooms, find them; if they are in Parliament, find them. But in attempting to find solutions to the spiralling crime wave, we must ensure that the measures we take do not result in some citizens feeling that the State is their enemy,” Simpson Miller said.
“Our action should not cause some to resent the security forces, thereby widening the divide between them and the communities and people they are sworn to protect,” she said. “Passing pieces of legislation to fight crime will not, by themselves, prevent or reduce crime. We have to examine seriously the impact of the six anti-crime bills on the rights of all Jamaicans, especially the poor… paper cannot solve crime.”
The Bills, an act to amend the Bail Act; an act to make interim provision extending the powers of arrest and detention under sections 50B and 50F of the Constabulary Force Act; an act to further amend the Firearms Act; an act to amend the Offences Against the Person Act; an act to amend the Parole Act; and an act to make interim provision in relation to the granting of bail in specified circumstances were tabled in 2008 but are yet to be passed into law because of differences in opinion.
The Opposition has raised concerns over the proposed mandatory sentencing provisions under the Firearms Act and also the proposed provisions which will extend the Powers of Arrest and Detention under the Constabulary Force Act. In addition, it has also questioned the recommended restrictions on the granting of bail under the Bail Act, and the proposed interim provision for bail to be granted under specified circumstances.
Lawyers and human rights groups have also voiced opposition to some of the provisions.
Yesterday, Opposition spokesman on national security Peter Bunting said while they had been co-operating in bi-partisan policy development on national security, swallowing the proposed amendments without question was not part of the plan.
“As a responsible Opposition we have a duty to carefully review and dissect Bills to reveal any weaknesses, and to anticipate the outcomes of this proposed legislation. We cannot be a mere rubber stamp for the Executive,” Bunting said.
“The Opposition intends that any legislation passed will contribute to fighting crime, dismantling criminal organisations and rooting out criminality wherever it may exist, while at the same time secure the fundamental rights of law-abiding citizens,” he added.
“We believe that these Bills don’t take us very far down that road and indeed, the passage of these Bills in their present form could contribute to the long-term alienation of our inner city youth and communities from the police and the wider law enforcement community,” he continued.
The Government has asked for the provisions to be passed into law before Parliament’s summer break in July.
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