CARICOM Heads task former Belize AG with reviewing existing laws and proposing new crime-flighting legislation

“…Heads sourced and obtained the services of a former [Attorney General] of Belize, Godfrey Smith, who has been tasked to review our legislative templates and to come up with new legislative proposals for consideration by the Heads for changes to be made on the legislative side to treat with what we are experiencing as against what we are surprised by.”

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr the Hon. Keith Rowley

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Dr The Hon. Keith Rowley says CARICOM Heads have agreed to elements of a holistic and region-wide approach to violence and crime as a public health issue. 

Speaking to the media at the culmination of the 48^th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, Dr Rowley highlighted how leaders are prioritising the approach to the significant surge in crime.

“We spent a lot of time discussing, strategising and taking decisions on an issue, which is common to all of us in CARICOM: that is the unacceptably high level of violent crime. So, we focused on the legislation, law enforcement and the public health aspects with respect to the legislation. We agreed that - notwithstanding social considerations - the changing nature of crime is such that acts of violence in the public space and certain instances must now be regarded as acts of terrorism,” stated Dr Rowley.

He emphasised that legislation must be able to address the present crime wave affecting Member States.

“We are talking about indiscriminate shooting in a public place where the perpetrators endanger all and sundry. We believe that the legislation needs to be cognizant of what exactly we are experiencing now as against what the existing legislation anticipated. And to that end, Heads sourced and obtained the services of a former [Attorney General] of Belize, Godfrey Smith, who has been tasked to review our legislative templates and to come up with new legislative proposals for consideration by the Heads for changes to be made on the legislative side to treat with what we are experiencing as against what we are surprised by,” asserted the Prime Minister.

High-level representative on law and criminal justice

Dr Rowley highlighted that the former Belize AG would be supported by a multidisciplinary team of technical experts seconded by member states. He shared that Leaders approved the terms of reference to design and lead the implementation of a strategic plan to improve and modernise criminal justice delivery services across the Community as one element of a holistic region-wide approach.

“What this means is that we would not be struggling at the individual level as sovereign bodies but accepting templates designed to suit our culture and our experience and using the best technical skills in law and in social services to craft legislative offerings that we can all adopt very quickly, and there are some deadlines applied to these matters,” stated the Prime Minister.