Call for reformation: Why Archbishop Joe’s petition spells trouble for hardened criminals


Archbishop Joseph Harris’ initiative to petition Government to free from prison petty offenders who have remained on remand for an inordinately long time is laudable and deserving of support.

However, if it’s accepted and implemented in its current form, it would deal an unjust blow to many more accused persons, perhaps several times the number of those who would benefit.

Let me explain.

Photo: Archbishop Joseph Harris. (Courtesy Stabroek News)
Photo: Archbishop Joseph Harris.
(Courtesy Stabroek News)

Fr Harris has courageously placed on the agenda reform of the criminal justice system, particularly the issue of petty offences, some of which ought never to have been crimes punishable by incarceration.

While the petition does not put it this way, it speaks of prisoners who have committed non-violent crimes that are bailable. But because they cannot raise bail, they have been in prison awaiting trial for much longer than the maximum jail terms for such crimes.

In other words had the justice system been efficient, such persons would have tried and found guilty or not guilty, and fined or jailed or set free—instead of being locked up in jails that anyone who knows about them will tell you manufacture more criminals.

But there is inequity in this pursuit of swift justice.

What happens to the thousands more petty offenders who are similarly charged, but who managed to raise bail—hence they are not in prison—and like their counterparts in prison, await their day in court?

Will they continue to live in limbo as the rusted wheels of justice turn ever so slowly, as they watch others walk free?

Photo: A police office leaves a Trinidad and Tobago prison. (Copyright Trinidad Guardian)
Photo: A police officer leaves a Trinidad and Tobago prison.
(Copyright Trinidad Guardian)

In fact, if the Government should agree with Fr Harris’ petition, we may well see one or two of four or five men who were charged for the same crime walk free while the others await trial.

Surely, that is not what the Archbishop intended.

Which brings us back to the core problems that we must deal with: revising the laws to remove some archaic infractions that ought not to be in today’s statute books; increasing penalties that are woefully inadequate for many offences; speeding up the judicial system by eliminating preliminary inquiries and implementing plea bargaining; and giving effect to many more reforms that have been bandied about for decades.

It’s not that the Archbishop’s initiative should be dismissed because of a single though fatal flaw.

In fact, the offences that can be categorised “petty” should be compiled soon, and decisions be made on what can be eliminated, decriminalised or referred to special petty courts.

If the authorities, parliamentarians included, can fast-track such reforms the way they did Section 34—which was a good measure, except for when it was manipulated—then all persons facing petty charges for unduly lengthy periods, be they in jail or on bail, can be flushed from the system.

Photo: Former Justice Minister Herbert Volney was sacked for his role in the Section 34 fiasco.
Photo: Former Justice Minister Herbert Volney was sacked for his role in the Section 34 fiasco.

That would reduce overcrowding of the prisons, making them more manageable. And it would relieve the courts of tens of thousands of matters, some of which ought never to have reached there, and others that can be settled by mediation, arbitration or special courts.

Now, we can do all of the above and more, but still find that serious crimes such as possession and use of illegal firearms, robbery with violence, rape, murder, etc, continue unabated.

Blame for this scourge lies with the families and communities that breed and harbour such criminals, and with the police who are charged with protecting the nation but seem incapable of fulfilling their mandate.

For as long as the detection rate and apprehension of hardened criminals remains abysmally low, and the conviction rate even lower, we shall be saddled with rampant crime.

We can only hope that if we remove petty crimes from the statute books, hence relieve the police of wasting time on arresting petty offenders, they will have more time and resources to focus on serious crimes—with better results.

Photo: A thug shows off his weapon.
Photo: A thug shows off his weapon.

I know there are those who believe that the “broken windows” theory—going after all lawlessness—is the way to attack crime. I agree, to a point. Lawlessness among otherwise “decent” citizens is unacceptable.

Breaking traffic regulations and building codes, littering, wasting precious water, rampant noise pollution—all need to be eliminated if our society is to remain civilised. We may, however, have to prioritise how we attack the beast if we are to make any headway.

What if the police charge thousands of offenders for relatively minor infractions? Would we feel safer?

Or would it not be better they go after those who commit serious crimes, ensure that they are charged, convicted and incarcerated?

Although general lawlessness angers me, I would be more comfortable knowing that most if not all violent criminals are either dead or in jail.

I therefore support Archbishop Harris’s initiative, but as part of a broader reformation of our legal, judicial and penal systems.

More from Wired868
Daly Bread: Government extends blame game while crime rampages on

For some weeks this column had been focused on the good, the bad and the ugly of Carnival and its Read more

Daly Bread: Criminals ducking the lack of political will

A New Year traditionally renews feelings of hope. Realism may dash hope so commentators feel pressured not to write gloomily Read more

Daly Bread: Government gaps in call out on crime

My close friends are worried for the safety of commentators on violent crime. In my case, they firmly believe that Read more

Early Bird: Crime concerns come nearer home after close encounter of the scary kind

“Assholes!” Bobby shouts after the two half-naked young men as they fly around and past us like a speeding bus Read more

Noble: Our govts fail to link improved social conditions with reduced violence

“There is no avoiding the fact that public confidence in the Police and police legitimacy is essential. We recognise that, Read more

Daly Bread: Who they fooling? Crime isn’t priority for PNM or UNC

A reader, who enjoys the historical perspective contained in many of these columns, asked me recently whether there is a Read more

About Raffique Shah

Raffique Shah is a columnist for over three decades, founder of the T&T International Marathon, co-founder of the ULF with Basdeo Panday and George Weekes, a former sugar cane farmers union leader and an ex-Siparia MP. He trained at the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was arrested, court-martialled, sentenced and eventually freed on appeal after leading 300 troops in a mutiny at Teteron Barracks during the Black Power revolution of 1970.

Check Also

Daly Bread: Government extends blame game while crime rampages on

For some weeks this column had been focused on the good, the bad and the …

6 comments

  1. joe harris with all respect leave the job of handling criminals to the police and prison authority but if you really want to assist in solving crime maybe you can give the police information on all the pedophile priests.

  2. But some people cannot afford bail Jeremy. So then they are incarcerated for being poor essentially.

  3. Our legal institution is living proof of the words of Jonathan Swift: ‘ ‘Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.’

  4. The fact remains that those who were able to get bail have not spent years in prison. They were on the outside. That is the issue. They were able to continue ‘living free’, whilst others were in effect incarcerated without charge.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.