(Trinidad Express) Persons who are suspected criminals should be tagged with the electronic monitoring bracelet so police can catch them in the act, says temporary Government Senator Jamal Mohammed.
Mohammed’s suggestion sparked an uproar from the Opposition benches as the Opposition senators questioned if he was really serious.
He made the recommendation during his contribution to the Electronic Monitoring Bill during the Senate sitting on Tuesday, at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.
In piloting the bill, Justice Minister Herbert Volney said people convicted of crimes were to be monitored with an electronic bracelet, and this will ease overcrowding in prisons and reduce the bill to maintain an offender in prison.
But Mohammed, in his contribution, said: “You know, in Trinidad and Tobago, I always hear, and I don’t know if it is true, that the policemen in our country… they know who all the criminals are, they have intelligence as to who all the criminals are…they know how they operate and so on; it’s just that they cannot bring them in because of a lack of evidence or whatever the case might be.
This Electronic Monitoring Bill and this facility, the electronic monitor, we should snap it on all of those we suspect, so we can monitor them 24 hours of every day, so we know exactly where they are,” said Mohammed.
“Are you serious? Those who we suspect?” shouted Opposition members.
Mohammed responded, “Serious! For example…if the police have a suspicion that there is a possibility that a person might be involved in untoward activity…we have to be able to provide the opportunity to monitor and to take a closer look at these people who we might feel, or the intelligence officers in the community might feel, that they have to look at.”
“There is an idea out there of where these people are and what they are doing. So we have to be able to be in a position to at least look at them and monitor them, and find some way to find out what we can do to stop them,” he continued.
Mohammed volunteered to give the electronic monitoring bracelet a trial run.
“I am willing; I as an ordinary citizen, I am not in any legal problems or anything; I am willing to wear it to try it out to see how it will work because we have to make sure we have it in place and see how it is working. Try it out on ordinary citizens; let us see what will happen,” he said.
This mechanism, he said, will be a way for Government to ease the overcrowding problem in the nation’s prisons.
The bill, said Mohammed, is not perfect, but he urged all senators to give it a chance. Debate on the bill is expected to continue at the next sitting of the Senate.
Contacted yesterday, Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi said he was taken aback by Mohammed’s statements.
“Mr Mohammed, in his contribution to the bill, said three incredible things: the first is that it was not a big thing to have a little mistake in legislation; the second, that all suspects should be tagged; and thirdly, that citizens should try the electronic bracelet to test it,” said Al-Rawi.
He said it was “spectacular” that Mohammed could make such a statement, which gave the impression that not being diligent in the preparation of legislation was okay.
Al-Rawi said while he agreed with Mohammed that making the law was not perfect, “the way he said it was cavalier, and I expected better from him”.
“I find it incredible that he could suggest all suspects must be tagged. We must remember, in Trinidad and Tobago, we subscribe to the process of being innocent until proven guilty, which is the golden thread of the common law,” said Al-Rawi.
He said the Opposition is not willing to support the implementation of electronic monitoring as this country is not ready for such a measure as requisite systems have not been put into place.
Al-Rawi said while electronic monitoring is a good idea, it is implemented after years of experience in a parole system.
He said the parole system is first needed to have that face-to-face monitoring and then a pilot programme of electronic monitoring follows.
