ALMOST SEVEN YEARS after the Report of the National Commission On Law and Order was submitted to Government, most of its recommendations are still catching dust.
And yesterday, commission chairman Sir Roy Marshall expressed his disappointment to the WEEKEND NATION that nothing had been done since submission of the extensive report to Government. It dealt not only with law and order but also a slew of social issues, with accompanying suggestions.
Investigations have revealed that in 2004, a Cabinet paper was prepared with recommendations for the report’s implementation but that report never reached Cabinet. Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General at the time, Mia Mottley, who had been the driving force in the consultation process, was shifted from the Office of the Attorney General and replaced by current Deputy Leader of the Opposition Dale Marshall.
Sir Roy noted the commission had looked at a wide range of issues related to law and order, and he was “very disappointed” that to date not much had been done with respect to the many suggestions coming out of that initiative.
He said extensive consultation among a vast range of stakeholders had gone into the compilation of the report. He indicated that he intended to revisit the report and speak on the issue in greater detail in the future.
The commission, which comprised individuals such as NATION Editor Emeritus Harold Hoyte, retired Justice Elliot Belgrave, former Commissioner of Police Orville Durant and former head of the Barbados Defence Force Rudyard Lewis, was appointed in 2002 and handed in its report in June 2004.
Sir Roy’s comments come in the wake of a meeting looking at law and order which was held last Wednesday at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex under the auspices of the Ministry of Family, Youth, Sports and Culture.
Minister Stephen Lashley indicated then that Government intended to stem the rising tide of crime and deviance and was engaging all the stakeholders in the planning.
“The Government sees this as an opportunity to engage all stakeholders and to build partnerships to help us to facilitate the design of the kind of solutions and the strategies that are necessary to ensure that we can solve this particular problem,” he said.
Among the numerous issues with which the Marshall report dealt were legislation related to noise pollution, legal wire-tapping, Justices of the Peace acting as magistrates in minor matters to alleviate pressure on the Magistrates’ Courts, and people giving evidential statements to authorities and then refusing to give evidence in court.
High Court Judge Randall Worrell recently expressed his disgust over the trend of people giving detailed statements to the police and then changing their story when the time came to give evidence at the Supreme Court.