Prakash: No need for anti-gang laws

St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar yesterday said the country does not need anti-gang legislation but police to do work on the ground to fix the crime problem.

He said anti-gang legislation cannot replace true good police work and intelligence gathering, human or electronic or by informants and a proper witness programme, with legislation cannot take leg to to the ground

He said in the past when there have been spikes in criminality good policing has been applied and it has subsided.

“Now to give grief to our population to say that we do not have anti-gang legislation that we are left unprotected that really cannot be the position of a government.”

Ramadhar was speaking at a media conference at his constituency office in Tunapuna held to explain why he abstained from voting on the anti-gang legislation early Wednesday morning. The bill required a three fifths majority and received 21 votes from the government and 12 UNC MPs voted against while Ramadhar was the only one to abstain.

“My abstention from that vote was a mark of protest in the way we conduct our Parliament. It is my view that whenever there is any legislation that impacts on the rights of citizens it should not be brought on the floor in such a hasty manner to begin with.”

He said the process should go forward with a Joint Select Committee (JSC) or consultation with all sides before law is brought to the Parliament.

He also said as an individual he could not participate to vote on a law he had great ambivalence about. “I do not believe that it is necessary at this time having regard to the powers that the police already have. And if they use it properly there would be no need for anti-gang legislation.” He said the legislation could not replace true and good police work and intelligence gathering, whether human, electronic or via informants, and a proper witness programme. He said there had been spikes in criminality in the past but good policing has been able to make it subside.

Ramadhar said there are no longer any hot spots in this country but “all of Trinidad and Tobago is hot in terms of crime.”

He said the PNM brought legislation with draconian effort including the issue of sedition which could be interpreted to suppress trade unions, political parties and protests against government. He said they knew no respectable, reasonably thinking opposition would support it and it was removed.

On the contested sunset clause, he said there was a request for a two year period but Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley indicated it would be four years and nothing else.

He said he held the Government for not taking the legislation to a JSC and questioned what was the rush.

“I did not vote for the PNM. I did not vote with the Opposition. I voted with my conscience which told me I had to protest on the way we do things. Unless we fix this it is going to be repeated.”