Stepping on constitutional rights to fight crime is the wrong answer – bar association

The Jamaican Bar Association says the Government should reject crime fighting strategies put forward by columnist Ian Boyne emphasising that stepping on the constitutional rights of Jamaicans is not the way to go.

Writing in The Sunday Gleaner, Boyne said some communities should be locked down while some known crime perpetrators should be jailed.

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IN PHOTO: Ian Boyne

He also said the security forces should be able to search peoples' properties without warrants because these are not normal times.

However, the bar association president, Sherry-Ann McGregor, says at no time should crime fighting efforts by the government seek to abrogate the rights of Jamaicans.

McGregor says the bar association believes the Constitution, which includes the Charter of Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, remains Jamaica's supreme law and the rights enshrined in it should be treated with the greatest respect.

Additionally, she says there is no known evidence that harsh measures suggested by Boyne will yield success.

The bar association president further argues that Boyne's suggestions ignore the root causes of crime and the necessity for orchestrated and sustained social intervention as a crime fighting measure.

She underscores that the response to lawlessness cannot be the State's own violation of the Rule of Law.