A local criminal lawyer has called for the removal of tint from vehicles.
Defense lawyer Grant Connell issued the call as he delivered remarks at the closing session of the Criminal Assizes on Monday.
Connell said that unless the tint is justified for medical or security reasons it should be removed, to allow the police to fight crime effectively.
The lawyer said he noticed that the police have returned to their stop and search exercises, but while this is commendable it is highly risky, given the sophistication of the criminals today, and the type of firearms.
Connell cited the possibility of, an outstanding officer, in the caliber of Superintendant Trevor ‘Buju’ Bailey stopping a heavily tinted vehicle, the glass goes down, and the officer is shattered by gunshots.
“What you going to say, Oh Gawd, if ah bin know”, he questioned.
The lawyer referred to the recent incident in which a heavily tinted vehicle drove into a dead end at Upper Kingstown, and the lives of our men and a 13-year-old boy were snuffed out.
“You can’t fight crime blind. How can you fight something you can’t see? No matter how sophisticated your cameras are, you will never see beyond tint”.
Fighting crime in SVG
Connell also pointed out that the police cannot fight crime effectively using archaic methods and technology, at a time when the criminals are much more sophisticated than they were years ago. He said the police not only lack modern equipment, but whatever equipment they have is, most of the time, not working or out of service.
He noted that the new fingerprint machine is down, and some of the machines used to do electronic interviews at the various police stations are either out of service or not working. He said the Mesopotamia Police Station has no transport and has to depend on Biabou.
“Sometimes you go to Court and a case falls, and the family approaches you and say, ‘Connell, what happen dey?’ and you have to provide answers.” he quipped.
“When the police suffer, the public suffers,” Connell said, adding that “the police force and the police stations are the Accident and Emergency of Justice; you get it wrong there, Justice suffers.”
He suggested , “We have to level the playing field, and to level the playing field we can’t put square pegs in round holes.
“Our countries are now at the crossroads. The captain of the ship cannot do it alone. We all have to play our role,” he said and took a swipe at his colleagues (lawyers) for not speaking out.
“Some police officers are present physically, but mentally they are not. They are frustrated,” he opined and stressed that some police officers remain constables for more than 22 years.
“Even at the stores you start as cashiers, and become store managers,” he advanced.
Speaking shortly after, Connell stressed, “You have to move the tint. Taking such a measure would offend certain people in society, but now is not a time for popularity… SVG needs straightening up, it’s bending too much. Everybody doing their own thing. We have to take measures that may seem harsh to some people.”
SOURCE :THE VINCENTIAN