Policemen need to take charge of prisoners

We would think that the courthouse and the surroundings would be considered somewhat sacred. The fact that the judge and other persons are being stifled by marijuana from the prisoners is very puzzling. What then do we expect at other places that are not as policed?

Supreme Court dissed!

11 Feb 2023

SMOKING GANJA in public or within five metres of a public place is prohibited under the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment Act) 2015. So when the pungent smell of ganja wafted around the precincts of the Supreme Court building on Thursday afternoon, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes could not contain himself.

The chief justice was summing up evidence in the One Don Gang trial when he paused to acknowledge the nuisance. He questioned why the Supreme Court was home to the “biggest ganja smoking session in Jamaica”.

Over the years, people doing business in these courts, including attorneys, litigants, witnesses and jurors, have come to accept that ganja smoking by prisoners in holding cells is a normal activity in support of the notion that “weed helps to keep the prisoners calm”. Indeed, many of our parliamentarians who are lawyers would also be familiar with this scenario.

Four years ago, Chief Justice Sykes spoke out similarly about weed smoking in holding cells and demanded that the police act to eliminate it. Reports suggest there was a lull for a time. As far as we can tell, the hierarchy of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) showed no public discomfort over the possibility that some of its members could be engaged in facilitating this illegal act, which would include supplying weed to the prisoners.

Well, here we are again.

Long before ganja smoking was decriminalised, prisoners had access to ganja and were filling the corridors of the nation’s highest court with ganja fumes. We recall that, in 2015, High Court Judge Lennox Campbell, now retired, expressed frustration that prisoners in custody at the court were breaching the law by continuing to smoke ganja.

On Thursday, Chief Justice Sykes expressed concern about the likelihood of arson since the smokers must have access to some form of lighting. He was also mindful of how the smoke might affect staff and other persons with respiratory illnesses. These are all valid concerns, we agree.

However, as we attempt to ply the depths of this issue, we see clearly that this is yet another example of how much respect for the rule of law has declined in this country. How can a first-time juror, for example, acknowledge the rule of law as the bedrock of the nation’s stability after observing such disturbing scenes where prisoners show contempt at the Supreme Court of all places?

In the face of this continued obscenity, what will the police commissioner do to ensure that prisoners show respect for the laws of the land? What will the police do differently this time? We have our own reservations.

The rule of law is a fundamental plank of our democracy, but our police are disappointingly poor at enforcement, which explains why smoking in public places is still a challenge more than a decade after legislation was introduced banning the practice. It also explains why places like the Supreme Court are surrounded by garbage and filth, which diminishes it as an important institution in society. In other words, garbage begets more garbage and, if the Supreme Court is not presented in pristine condition, it will not get the respect it deserves.

Justice Sykes warned the policeman overseeing the prisoners Thursday: “We have to come to grips with this.” The policeman promised that he would speak to his supervisor.

Once again, the police have been put on notice by the chief justice. The commissioner must act decisively to deal with this sordid affair.

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