Pre-charge detention violates citizens' rights - Samuels

 

Attorney Bert Samuels is suggesting that the proposal for the introduction of pre-charge detention in Jamaica violates the rights of citizens and will lead to many claims of false imprisonment.

 

Mr. Samuels says a person in this position is worse off than someone who has been charged, as they would be not be able to ask to be taken before a judge for a determination on their release or further detention.

 

"The Constitution does not contemplate a person being taken into custody to facilitate investigations. The investigations must take place and then you lay a charge. You cannot put the cart before the horse. It’s going to be a huge collision with your rights," he argued, suggesting this is the same criticism for the states of emergency. 

 

Mr. Samuels contended that the government will be moving toward a police state if pre-charge detention is implemented along with other legislation such as the new Bail Act, currently being reviewed by a Joint Select Committee of Parliament.

 

The attorney said the crime situation will become worse, as the belief that the police are the enemy will become more widespread.

 

"You can’t be calling a citizen a 'violence producer' when the Constitution on the other hand is saying this person is innocent until proven guilty. I know the crime rate is high and I know that we’re trying for political reasons to make the public think that we are doing something but when we alienate the police, when we make families dislike the police who detain their sons for an inordinately long time, what we get is a divide between law enforcement and the citizenry, and the result of that is...heightened crime rate," he asserted. 

 

Mr. Samuels believes the government should instead focus on improving the investigative capabilities of the police and investing in closed-circuit television infrastructure.