The Guyana Police Force has welcomed the recent passage of five bills and declared that this would enhance the security landscape and help to improve the quality of intelligence, investigation and detection and prosecution  of those involved in serious crime.

Five bills to sharpen the crime fight and speed the dispensing of justice were passed in the National Assembly last Thursday and Friday, covering plea bargaining, paper committals at preliminary inquiries, taking of audio visual evidence, wiretapping and requiring the logging of information on SIM-cards and mobile phone sales.

The police in a press release recalled that in March this year Caribbean leaders reviewed the crime situation in the region, including Guyana, and found that the situation required urgent attention and consequently they mandated the Commis-sioners of Police and the Military Chiefs of CARICOM  to meet to provide recommendations aimed at resolving the many issues surrounding serious crime.

The Commissioners and Military Chiefs met here in March at the Grand Coastal Inn on the East Coast  to examine the situation and among the measures agreed upon for  controlling the crime situation were the enactment of legislative amendments and new legislation, the release noted.

It was recognized, the release further stated,  that in order to penetrate criminal gangs and their support structures wiretapping, plea bargaining and plea agreement and some amendments of the Evidence Act were vital. It was also recognized that criminal gangs were often violent, intimidating and threatening witnesses and others in the justice system.

The contentious law that will sanction wiretapping as a tool in the fight against crime was passed in the National Assembly last week after a fiery debate weighing the need for increased protection against the potential trampling of the rights of citizens.
The government played up the Interception of Commu-nications Bill 2008 as a major initiative to enhance intelligence gathering by the security forces, while members of the main opposition PNCR-1G and the AFC withheld support because of serious reservations about its constitutionality, its potential for abuse by the state and the absence of accompanying provisions for oversight.

A major concern was also the lack of wide consultation on the legislation, in light of its reach. Although similar concerns were raised about the Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2008, intended to aid the tracking and identifying of persons in possession of the cellular phone devices, it was also passed with the guarded support of the PNCR-1G.

The AFC did not support either bill, saying that they represented an erosion of civil rights, similar to situations in Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Uganda and even the US where such laws have been heavily criticised.

The laws were formulated in response to the widespread use of mobile phones in the planning and commission of major crimes. The wiretapping law will effectively prohibit the interception of communication unless a warrant is issued by a judge based on an application. Intercepted communication obtained on a warrant will also be made admissible in any criminal proceedings.