Golding: Constitution must not be abused in crime fight
Opposition leader criticises Gov’t for new SOEs despite outstanding court challenge
Published:Tuesday | November 22, 2022 | 12:11 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Ahead of Tuesday’s anticipated deliberation of a resolution to extend the current states of emergency (SOEs) in sections of the island, Opposition Leader Mark Golding has accused the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) of over-relying on the measure to make up for failing to bring the island’s crime crisis under control.
Golding, who is the president of the opposition People’s National Party (PNP), made the declaration on Sunday while addressing the party’s St James Central constituency conference at the Green Pond High School.
“When you talk about crime and violence, their track record is shameful. In the four years when we were last in Government, when we did not have the resources that exist now, we were able to do so much more with what we had,” Golding said, referencing the last PNP administration led by the now-retired Portia Simpson Miller between 2012 and 2016.
“Under our watch in those four years, the average murders per year were 400 [fewer] than what is happening now under this Government, and they have been trying to control this thing by abrogating and abridging the rights of the Jamaican people through the use of the SOEs in a way that is fundamentally inconsistent with the role of the SOE under the Constitution,” Golding added. “They have been taken to court and have lost twice in court and are appealing those matters, and those matters have not yet been determined by the Court of Appeal, yet they are going back with more SOEs while the issue is unresolved.”
Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced SOEs in St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, Clarendon, St Catherine, and parts of the Corporate Area in response to an increase in criminal activity. The measures will last for an initial 14 days and will need the Opposition’s support to be extended.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that some of the regulations under previous SOEs had breached the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms after St James resident Roshaine Clarke took the Government to court over the 2018 SOE imposed in the parish. Clarke, who asserted that his right to liberty, to be informed at the time of his detention of the reason for his arrest, and to be brought before a court as soon as is reasonably practicable were breached, was awarded $17.8 million in damages.
Golding told Sunday’s meeting that the PNP will be mulling over its next move before the resolution to extend the SOEs go before the House on Tuesday.
“We understand the pain and the fear that the people are feeling because crime is out of control, but the way to solve it is not by abusing the Constitution or imposing measures which are not in keeping with the general rights which have been fought for over many centuries to take us where we are now,” he told supporters.