Minister urges new public order law to toughen penalties for violent public attacks

Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice Michael Lashley has signalled plans to push for tougher penalties for violent public offences, saying the Public Order Act no longer reflects the seriousness of crimes such as the Grand Kadooment 2017 mass shooting.

Recalling the incident which was considered Barbados’ first ever mass shooting, he pointed out that all of the accused men had been charged with violent disorder, “although firearms were used”.

This state of affairs demands comprehensive reform of the 1970 law governing public meetings, processions, and the maintenance of peace in public spaces, Lashley told lawmakers. The act created an offence of violent disorder carrying a certain level of penalties for those convicted, which he suggested was now not enough for some offences.

He said: “Of course, it would have been very difficult to pursue the case because of evidentiary challenges, but if the case had gone to court and the jury had come back and convicted them, look at the penalty: ‘A person guilty of violent disorder is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term of seven years or a fine of $50 000 or both.’

“Although you have threatened public safety, you’ve threatened citizen security, and you have committed acts of lawlessness and recklessness. It is my view that in cases outside of domestic terrorism, we must now go and do a comprehensive reform of the Public Order Act and Public Order Offences.”

Giving support to the Domestic Terrorism Bill in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, he said that the bill, along with anti-gang legislation, would provide prosecutors with additional tools to fight crime and violence and would act as deterrents due to their hefty penalties.

Lashley said: “With this commitment, we are seeking now to deter individuals, deter gang members from committing these lawless offences, or reckless offences. The fact that if you take up a gun or you take up a ‘collins’ and run into a public place, and threaten public safety, threaten persons who are in an open public place enjoying themselves, then you should suffer the consequences. It is a commitment to the fact that we are treating gun violence seriously.”

The criminal justice minister noted the social and financial impact of public violence, noting that people wounded by a “man of straw” perpetrator then become burdens to their families and the State.

The minister said that unlike the Public Order Act, the Domestic Terrorism Bill had strict penalties and added another rung to the fight against crime on the island.

“This bill now brings together a whole set of pieces of legislation that impact positively on the criminal justice system. You had the Bail Act, the Firearms Act, the Gun Court Act with the amendment to the Supreme Court of Judicature Act; we had the Witness Protection Bill. All of these pieces of legislation would impact positively on the criminal justice system.”

(JB)