AG: Anti-Gang Bill working

WITH landmark cases before the court, Trinidad and Tobago  witnessing its lowest violent crime statistics in 20 years and law enforcement agencies working to disrupt criminal gang activity, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi on Tuesday appealed for the Senate to pass the Anti-Gang Bill 2021 to give people the ability to “walk free and not brave” in TT.

During debate on the bill in the Senate, Al-Rawi declared, “We are now in the most robust side of the equation of the anti-gang law because we want to separate gang members from their property. We want to take the proceeds of crime away from the gang activity.”

He added, “We want to have them sweating that they are at risk of losing their assets.”

Stressing that the bill will be harmonised with the Proceeds of Crime Act, Al-Rawi said, “We want to take the proceeds of crime and put it to good use in the society – to education, to turning away from crime, to supporting alternate remedies, to making sure we tackle the concept of recidivism.” Saying he was not breaching sub judice, Al-Rawi disclosed,”We have landmark cases before the courts now, on explain your wealth.”

He continued, “When those judgments come to the fore, TT will be in a different zone. This is no TT of yesteryear or of 2015. This is a new TT.”

Al-Rawi said misbehaviour in public office “is a requirement if we are going to treat with corruption in the public service and amongst more senior people.”

Saying that anti-gang legislation has been working, Al-Rawi said in 2018, Commissioner of Police (CoP) Gary Griffith indicated there were 211 criminal gangs with 2,400 members. But by 2020, he continued, “The CoP was able to demonstrate a drop of 211 gangs to 129, that’s a 39 per cent drop in gangs.”

Over the same period, Al-Rawi said the number of gang members fell from 2,400 to 1,014. “That’s a 58 per cent drop in gang membership.”

Al-Rawi said Griffith indicated that gangs dissolved themselves because of the “constant police suppression activities” which anti-gang legislation covers. He also said in 2018, 22 gang-related murders were solved, with 22 arrests. “In 2019, 13 gang-related murders were solved with ten arrests. In 2020, five were solved with 13 arrests.”

Griffith, Al-Rawi continued, has indicated that “gang leaders have been charged and are before the courts. Gangs have been disrupted.”

He added that Griffith has “just reported to the country, the lowest statistics for crimes in 20 years.” Al-Rawi observed this was done “without the use of a state of emergency” as happened in 2011 under the former People’s Partnership (PP) government.

He dismissed the UNC’s claims that covid19 has caused crime to fall in TT. “In every other country around the world, with lockdowns which we didn’t have because we did not use a state of emergency, the numbers went in the opposite direction. Crime went up.”

Recalling that anti-gang and related bail amendment legislation was born under the UNC-led PP in 2011, Al-Rawi said the UNC has refused to support both pieces of legislation since 2016. Observing recent marches by citizens “crying for the right of protection,” Al-Rawi said the public has been “regaled by the story, anecdotally in the papers, of gangs kidnapping our young ladies.” He added, “That is TT, ten years later from 2011.” Al-Rawi said the bill was being re-introduced without a sunset clause or a special majority.

While the Government had amendments to propose, Al-Rawi said he wanted to hear senators views on the bill before doing so. The debate continues in the Senate on March 16.