Bill proposes protection for prisons, fire, police officers

THIS country's law enforcement officers will receive additional legislative protection when the Miscellaneous Provisions (Law Enforcement Officers) Bill 2019 is passed in Parliament.

The bill will be laid in the House of Representatives when it sits at Tower D of the Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre on Friday from 1.30 pm. The House will debate the bill on a subsequent date. Newsday was reliably informed that the bill was the result of discussions with the Prison Officers Association. A decision was subsequently taken to expand the legislation to cover members of the Police Service and the Fire Service.

One key aspect of the bill is to make it a specific crime for anyone to attack any of these officers. The legislation will also ensure that should any of these officers be found to be engaged in any corrupt acts, they will be dealt with criminally. National Security Minister Stuart Young has publicly spoken about the need to protect law enforcement officers from attacks and to deal with those who may be found engaged in corruption.

The Senate sits on Thursday from 2.30 pm at Tower D to debate a motion to adopt the report of the Special Select Committee on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019. In its report, the SSC opposed initial proposals to stamp a public warning on sex offenders passports. The committee also said the sex offender's registry would not be accessible to the public.