Dr Orville Taylor, Contributor
This column might have been written earlier but I was detained by the police for much longer than expected. In fact, they held me for two days without charge and had me reporting to Harman Barracks and another location twice after being released.
It was mostly voluntary though, because despite all the rumours one hears about members of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), they are more educated, competent and committed than is generally recognised. Nevertheless, while in their company it became necessary to reflect on the freedom of movement that I enjoyed as a law-abiding citizen, but more so because I was a 'name brand' man, and how happy I was not to have been among the 107 'no name' persons carted off for three days last weekend.
The prime minister has been dragged over the coals for his alleged suggestion that the period that a suspect can be detained should be extended. Believe it or not, under Jamaican law, no person can be legally kept in captivity beyond 48 hours without charge. When that time passes, the individual may have his attorney serve a writ of habeas corpus to secure his release.
Held hostage
Apparently, the detentions have already started because even the truth has been held hostage and not been forthcoming. A long debate has ensued over the recommendation of a 42-day period of pre-charge internment but there is no documentary or electronic evidence that there was any specific limit coming from him. Nonetheless, it has become a 'nationwide' scoop based on a lie. The fact is, 'Driver' might have steered the bus in the direction but someone inserted an editorial detail that made it more interesting but less accurate.
Be that as it may, the general concern remains regarding the tampering with any of the fundamental freedoms and rights of the average citizen. Driver may very well have comrade passengers in his bus egging him on. However, history should be telling him not to. Despite this being one of the best democracies in the entire developing world, this country has enough of a history of persons being unjustly deprived of their liberty.
Most famous is perhaps the 1940 to 1942 incarceration of Alexander Bustamante for what his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) would now consider a heroic standing up for the rights of the poor and downtrodden. When the authorities have the power to detain without charge they have always abused it.
'Jump in, jump out'
Curiously, in 1974, when the JLP was in opposition, a People's National Party (PNP) government passed a Suppression of Crimes Act. This allowed the police to proceed without warrants and wantonly incarcerate anyone under the slightest pretext of a threat. Any lower-stratum person over the age of 40 would remember the dread and mortal fear of policemen and soldiers who would 'jump in and jump out' of jeeps.
There were also the famous Ford Pintos and black Toyotas that had less than enough trunk space for a talk show host but often squeezed in three men. Oftentimes they were not hardened criminals, but simply unemployed youth or students jamming on the corners because our houses were slightly larger than the cars and cells. Thankfully, the policy was not 'shoot on sight'. Thus, our prowess as sprinters was unintentionally improved.
Peter Phillips, Trevor MacMillan, Dorothy Lightbourne and Bruce Golding were solid members of the middle class then and would not have learnt first hand how to hate the police. We hated them because they were from the same class as us but only had strength for us and did not abuse the average member of the middle and upper classes.
It was during the 1970s to 1980s that relations between the police and the average inner-city residents soured and rotted and the arms introduced by politicians into the hands of the misguided, anti-police, disrespected youth, turned the police into fair game. Simply put, the draconian and oppressive, unregulated and arbitrary policing worsened relations between the poor and the force, creating a further wedge than that introduced after the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865.
Notable exceptions to the rule were political targets, who would have more likely directed their animosity towards the Government rather than the police. These include information minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange and Driver's brother-in-law and current labour minister, Pearnel Charles. He spent almost a year in detention and she had to take flight.
Democratic socialism
It is perhaps coincidental that it was in 1974, the same year that the Government declared democratic socialism as its official doctrine and incorporated free education and health care. The comparison of Driver with the original Comrade Leader Michael Manley is even more apparent when we recognise that the 1974 redundancy legislation, like the present one, was actually initiated in the twilight of the earlier 1967 to 1972 JLP administration. What seems to be the difference is that the PN has changed to JL but both are Ps.
Like the human rights groups, my vote is against any increase in the period of pre-charge detention. In any event, unless a suspect has a lawyer it is still likely that he will be held for long periods without charge. That is done routinely. What is needed is increased training, more technology to screen and capture details about suspects, and better cooperation with the public, who are also fed up and scared of the killers.
Greater commitment must come from the politicians who preside over garrisons. By the way, a crime-free garrison does not simply mean the absence of shootings or murders. No one can boast of low-crime communities if large numbers of 'parked' guns are present. Remember, possession of firearms, especially rifles, is a major crime too.
Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at UWI, Mona. Feedback may be sent to orville.taylor@uwimona.edu.jm or columns@gleanerjm.com.
