AG: PP wasted $40B to fight crime

Al-Rawi made this declaration as he opened debate on the Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement Bill 2017 in the House of Representatives.

He was supported by Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and Public Administrations and Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie later in the debate.

Saying the PP had, “the lawful opportunity as a sitting government with a special majority constitution” in the House to address the problems plaguing the criminal system, Al-Rawi said, “They came to the country and said here is a ministry of justice, specifically carved out to treat with improvements of the order that is required in TT.” Al-Rawi said the $40 billion expenditure, included $26,794,559241 spent by government ministries. He said this included $2,578,854, 591 spent by the former justice ministry (now a part of his ministry) and $1,483, 372, 567 by the Office of the Prime Minister. Al-Rawi said when expenditure of $15,083,124,998 by the Police Service was factored in, this equated to, “close to $40 billion of expenditure on crime” under the PP.

“That’s what we as taxpayers are paying,” Al-Rawi quipped.

The AG said in 2014, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) noted only 12 matters actually went through the plea bargaining process. He also said a six-year average for criminal cases disposed of from 2009 to 2016, showed that of 173 non-capital indictments were filed ,only 83 were disposed of.

As he observed that persons sentenced to hard labour by way of a guilty plea totalled 7,464 in the period 2011 to 2016, Al-Rawi argued there is data which shows, “there may be an appetite for a plea of guilty” and this would help to “lighten the burden of the criminal justice system.” Noting that Pamela Elder SC and the late Dana Seetahal SC offered comments which guided the fashioing of the bill, Al-Rawi said it was unfortunate that his predecessors had payment owing to Seetahal.

In his contribution, Deyalsingh said the bill was just one aspect of the measures Government is taking to deal with crime. He queried comments from Oropouche West MP Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh about a national exoneration register, countering that this could lead to a situation where persons with criminal records could become doctors.

Responding to Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Cuffie said the country “fell off the slippery slope” when Persad-Bissessar called a state of emergency in 2012.

He said it was unfortunate that while the country sees crime as a crisis, the Opposition is using it as an opportunity to get back into power.