Recently there was a suggestion that the way to deal with gun-related crimes is to mandate that individuals arrested for such crimes be denied bail for up to four months. This kind of reaction, while attractive to the many that are totally fed-up with our inability to reduce criminal activity, may not be the solution that we need.
One can easily imagine how easy it could be for an innocent person to be in proximity to illegal firearms, for example a driver transporting armed men not knowing of their baggage or intention can easily find himself imprisoned for months before being able to prove that he was simply an innocent driver.
What is required is a realistic, modern approach to dealing with criminal activity. T&T's problem is that there are way too many pending cases that clog up the judicial system. A proactive, brave and innovative move will be to offer pardons to all non-violent accused that have cases outstanding for over five years. That will free up quite a bit of the courts' time.
Additionally there must be a concerted effort with the judiciary and police to have matters brought before the court and determined in the shortest possible time. This may necessitate night court and legislation that opens only some cases to jury trial.
The Chief Justice has made some suggestions in that regard and those suggestions should be discussed with all stake holders to ultimately reduce the length of time matters take to be determined before the court. That is the solution to dealing with serious crime and criminals without violating their civil liberties. T&T must make every effort to immediately take steps to curtail the rising levels of criminal activity and murder traumatising our communities.
These steps must not however be short-term measures for political gain, like state of emergencies and sporadic elevated levels of police patrols, but instead they must be carefully thought-out long-term initiatives that reduce the time before criminals are brought to justice. Our courts must be modernised and legislation created to rely upon modern detection evidence like electronic recordings, DNA and other forensic evidence with globally-accepted standards of reliance.
The criminals know only too well the levels of incompetence that exist within the system of justice and the archaic methods of policing that are practised by our law enforcement officers. Consequently, they feel emboldened in their rampage over innocent citizens. It is up to our politicians to take the lead in charting the way forward: a modern way that immediately impacts on the way policing and our courts operate as we seek to catch up with the technology and modus operandi of the modern criminal.
Certainly, reducing the civil liberties of an already-traumatised public is not the way to go.God bless our nation.
Steve Alvarez
Via e-mail