That detention for three days

Sep 28, 2013 Editorial

There was a time when the police could hold a suspect for an indefinite period. The result was that people spent months in the lock ups while the authorities claimed that they were conducting investigations. Such were the conditions of detention that the authorities actually forgot people in the lock ups until someone happened to spot the incarcerated one and during an ensuing conversation, would learn that the person was only there pending investigation.
When the authorities were investigating the Moleson Creek schoolboy murder they were forced to detain the suspects for as long as two weeks. This eventually proved detrimental to the authorities because the court later ruled that by detaining the wife of the accused for so long a period the authorities placed her husband under duress to force a confession from him.
For decades after independence there was no statutory limit for detention. It was not until there was a modification of the constitution that changes appeared in the policy of criminal detention. Of course there were times when this matter could have been sorted out. Chief Justice Cecil Kennard had a golden opportunity to do so in the same Moleson Creek ruling but then again, perhaps the need to make the adjustment did not arise.
Since then, there have been arbitrary detentions for the mandatory 72 hours. The police would simply say that they have the power to detain someone for seventy-two hours and they would. We have seen policemen out of spite detain people for that mandatory period. There is often no need for detention but the fact that there is power in the uniform is enough.
In Guyana people can fume till they turn blue in the face but they can do nothing about the arbitrary detention. They are reluctant to sue because of the cost of the legal action; they also know that the case could be years in the system. There is no redress for wrongful detention.
The constitution emphatically states that no one should be deprived of his liberty on a whim but the police seem to be unaware of this constitutional guarantee. Many simply do not care.
In the developed world an arrest is the last thing because the people adhere rigidly to their constitutional rights. They treasure their freedom so the authorities would ensure that they only arrest when they have all the evidence.
We in Guyana are not that careful. We do things because we know that we can. There was a time when the authorities made a pretence of releasing someone on the appointed date only to re-arrest them as soon as they reached the gates. Of course this is unconstitutional.
Like so many things in Guyana those in power often allow the courts to rule on certain things. For example, if there is a traffic accident, for the greater part the police would charge both parties instead of conducting proper investigations and reducing the pressure on the courts. It is the same when neighbours brawl.
Again, to demonstrate the power invested in the law enforcer the rank would make arrests and plunk the arrested person in jail sometimes for the seventy-two hours allowed by law.
Complaints are many but rarely are the police found to be wrong. Just the other day a man who claimed that the police tortured him while in custody had to accept the word of an investigating body that there was no evidence of torture. There were no physical marks and no witnesses to testify on his behalf although there were a few of them in the cell.
The reason? Those who were in the cell want no part of the police. They expect to be arrested again and once they fly in the face of their tormentors the next audition could be worse than the first. And so we come to the point where anyone can be arrested at the whim of a policeman for at least three days.
There are no independent investigative bodies to probe wrongful detention. However, there is a consolation. Guyana is not unique; the same thing happens in other Caribbean jurisdictions.

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That detention for three days

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