Scotland: State to get tough on bail for extortion suspects

THE State intends to make it more difficult for extortion suspects to get bail.

Minister in the Ministry of National Security Keith Scotland vowed to crack down on the offence as he toured Central and South Trinidad on November 8.

Speaking with the media outside the Chaguanas Police Station, Scotland said he was aware of the extortion issues facing business owners nationwide.

He added police intelligence indicated Central Trinidad, particularly Chaguanas, had been greatly affected by extortion.

Chaguanas businessmen, with the support of the Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce, have been very vocal about the challenges they face regarding the issue.

Scotland said the high incidence of extortion across Trinidad and Tobago is the reason the police established a specialist unit but added without official reports, there is little the police can do.

“If you don't inform us, how can we eradicate it? If you sit in silence, it will just bear itself out. It will increase and the people will get bolder and bolder. But the fact that we have established a unit means that we are very serious about dealing with that situation.”

Head of the unit ACP Richard Smith said the unit has already received 29 reports and has charged a man for 22 offences arising from the reports.

He urged victims to come forward, saying, “If the reports are not made, we cannot imagine what are in people's minds. So we need to get the reports. That's the reason we formed the unit.

“We have a hotline, which is 797-3150, which we expect people to use,” Smith added.

The term extortion is not on TT law books and is instead referred to as demanding by menace. Scotland noted the maximum penalty if convicted of the offence is 15 years imprisonment. He said the state intends to encourage police prosecutors to “be more robust in their submissions” when suspects are brought before the court.

“We intend to insist and make submissions before the judicial officers. Our voices will be heard at the first end, which is bail applications. Those who are recidivists, we will be having a strong view on that and making sure that it's presented to the district judge or the master.”

He added while the decisions on bail and sentencing are up to the courts, the state will have its say.

“If found guilty, we will be insisting that the police complainants and prosecutors share the views of the complainants and the victims in these matters because when last have you heard someone get (sentenced to) 15 years for demanding by menace?”

“As it relates to sentencing, if you're convicted, we will be advocating that the concentration will be on the punitive and the deterrent. And that will be our main focus.”

Scotland said he hopes by the end of November, an expert will be engaged to train the police prosecutors.

“We want to advise a stronger advocacy in that regard (and) we want training to facilitate stronger advocacy.”

Scotland believes there is no need for legislative intervention, adding, “What we have is sufficient once it is utilised properly and efficiently.”

Asked to comment on rumours that police officers may be involved in extortion, Scotland said any officer found to be involved in any illegal activity will face swift and decisive action.

“Any police officer who commits not just extortion but any act that is counter-intuitive to their oath, which is to protect and serve, I would hope that swift, immediate and decisive action be taken against those officers.”

He admitted there are rogue officers in the TT Police Service but said they are in the minority.

“I want to say to the police officers, ‘Just do your job, protect and serve!’ By and large, there are right-thinking police officers who represent the majority of the force. But there are always, as in any entity, the rogue element and their actions will taint the good of all those who, to my mind, make up the majority of officers. So I say to them, ‘Desist.’”

Former state council in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jayanti Lutchmedial said the move was a good start but cannot be the only thing being done to address the issue.

Lutchmedial, a UNC senator, said understaffing and the lack of resources in other departments, which affect the smooth flow of a court matter, must also be dealt with.

“In many cases, you would find, in my experience, police officers need advice from the Office of the DPP and they are strained on resources. So you can train prosecutors, but at the end of the day, the entire prosecutorial system is made up of both the police and the DPP and you need to have both of them strengthened and having their full complement of staff in order to effectively operate.”

She added advocacy training is important but said the police need a lot more resources if the state is to convince judicial officers to curtail the granting of bail for extortion suspects.

“They need to strengthen their ability to prepare their files. They need to have a faster system for preparing needs for witness statements and filing them before the court for making disclosure to the defence. Because when they are not complying with the directions given by the court, the court is often hard pressed to grant bail to persons, even though it may be what we consider to be a serious and prevalent offence.”

Lutchmedial explained delays are one of the main factors that contribute to suspects being granted bail.

“The police are unable to bring the case to trial in a timely manner, and that, in essence, leads to the granting of bail in any event. It is just simply not possible to ask the judicial officers to constantly adjourn matters due to the failure of the prosecution to comply with directions and to keep people on remand, regardless of how serious the offence is.”

“So I think that is where the focus should be. Training officers and giving them the resources they need, whether it is human resources or otherwise, to get things done quickly. The art of advocacy is just the icing on the cake. The cake itself that you actually need them to eat is the substance of your argument.”