Thorne says government failing to address crime

While acknowledging that wiretapping legislation could play a role in combatting crime, Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne has accused the government of failing to fully utilise existing laws, such as the recently enacted Bail Act, to stem a surge in violent offences. 

During Friday’s parliamentary debate on the Interception of Communications Bill, Thorne argued that despite the administration’s boasts about judicial reforms, the public remains unconvinced of its commitment to tackling crime, citing rising murder rates and repeat offenders on bail as evidence of policy failure. 

“We are speaking of qualities and not quantities…. It is quite possible to pass lots of legislation, but the nature and the depth of that legislation must reveal an intention to arrest criminality, and I don’t think the public is yet convinced that the government is serious about any effort to curb crime and to curb violent crime in this country,” he said.

Thorne pointed to the government’s touting of judicial appointments and an expanded Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, but noted little discussion about the Bail Act.

“That new Bail Act was supposed to change the situation in which young men on bail for murder are committing murders while on bail. Now, the [AG] did not produce any statistics, but since that act has been passed, there have been more murders per month and per capita in Barbados. So that when we accuse the government of being soft on crime, we speak about the qualities.”

The Opposition Leader said the measure had failed in its intended purpose.

He argued that since murders had not only persisted but increased after the new Bail Act was passed, the legislation had failed in its aim to detain those charged with murder and prevent further offences. He pointed to cases in Barbados where individuals on bail for murder had allegedly committed new murders, calling this undeniable proof of the law’s failure.

Thorne challenged Attorney General Dale Marshall’s characterisation of the Interception of Communications Bill as an “arsenal” against crime, arguing that the term was fitting, but only because the legislation itself functioned as a weapon targeting Barbadians rather than criminals.

“The point is that we agree with the Attorney General that the government has an arsenal… and the people of Barbados feel that every piece of legislation now and almost every policy represents a weapon against the rights and interests of people in Barbados. I referred to tint [legislation], there’s the Cybercrime Bill, which the government may be feeling embarrassed, and has chosen to hide away for the time being, but that cybercrime bill, people felt that it was a threat to their rights.”

He further criticised the government for prioritising measures that he claims target citizens’ freedoms rather than criminal activity.

The Opposition Leader stressed that the right to privacy was fundamental and enshrined in the Constitution.

“The right to a private space is not conditional on the fact that one does not commit crime…. It is a moral space. It is a space to which one is entitled even without the element of crime existing in one’s life,” he said.

Thorne noted that while the Attorney General had correctly pointed out privacy rights were constitutionally protected, he emphasised the Caribbean Court of Justice’s landmark ruling, which overturned previous legal assumptions by affirming that citizens could indeed challenge privacy violations in court, despite earlier beliefs that such rights were not legally enforceable. 

(SB)