Slippery slope on crime – Golding
Published:Wednesday | February 3, 2021 | 12:27 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang’s comment on Tuesday that the democratically elected Holness administration “cannot be vetoed in carrying out executive action in the face of crisis” triggered a warning from the parliamentary Opposition that such rhetoric could threaten the foundations of governance.
In a statement to the House of Representatives, Chang, who is also the national security minister, charged that it was “inappropriate to block executive attempts in the interest of the people”.
He indicated that while the elected government had a responsibility to respect the rights of the people, the administration ought to also ensure that other individuals respect the rights of all citizens.
In the wake of the heinous killing of Andrea Lowe-Garwood at the Agape Christian Fellowship church service in Trelawny on Sunday and the killing of 131 people in January, Chang said that crime was a major problem that had plagued the society.
In January 2020, Jamaica recorded 120 murders.
He said that the violent crime could not be solved overnight or remedied by a single action but through coordinated development of the country’s institutions.
Responding to Chang’s remarks, Opposition Leader Mark Golding cautioned that the executive was expected to operate within the framework of Jamaica’s laws, particularly the Constitution.
He said the 63 lawmakers in the Lower House swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of Jamaica.
“If we lose sight of that, we are on a slippery slope away from a government ruled by laws to a government ruled by power, uncircumscribed by law, which is a dangerous country for us, and we don’t want to go there,” he said.
CHANGE VIA LEGISLATION
Chang told his fellow lawmakers that the Government was pressing ahead to transform the police force through the development of a modern legislative framework.
“I have indicated the ministry’s priority legislation agenda for 2021 to the Crime Consensus Committee, and I have engaged in extensive discussion with the minister of justice and the attorney general with a view to expedite the legislative process,” he said.
St Catherine South Member of Parliament Fitz Jackson enquired about the concrete steps taken by the Government to clamp down on incarcerated gangsters who continue to run their criminal networks from behind bars.
Jackson said that Jamaicans could not feel comfortable knowing that prisoners were ordering hits on others on the outside.
Chang said that the Government was moving to establish a high-security prison to prevent those kinds of activities.
“That’s the only way you are going to get to stop certain high-value criminals who continue to find a way to subvert the system and continue to have criminal impact out there,” he told Parliament.
The national security minister also pledged that the administration would introduce legislation in April to clamp down on contraband entering the prisons.