Panday: Implement laws to tackle crime

Panday said this as he addressed reporters at his Gordon Street, San Fernando law office on Tuesday. He also agrees with former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj’s assertion that any good plan to reduce crime, “is only as good as its implementation.” “In order to urgently deal with crime, it is necessary to implement laws which are on the books,” Panday said, citing the existing DNA legislation which he added, should be upgraded while the Forensic Science Centre should be well resourced for increased efficiency.

He said the Interception of Communication Act should also be implemented and which would give the police the power to monitor the conversations of the criminal element.

Panday said the complete removal of Preliminary Inquiries would shift the backlog from the Magistrates’ Court to the High Court where the resultant backlog would result in “complete chaos.” He said legislation appears to have omitted the police service from the process as no time-table had been placed on the police, to effectively and efficiently conduct and complete investigations.

“Therefore, I support Mr Maharaj’s suggestion that various measures including resourcing of the police service be improved immediately so they could speed up investigations,” Panday said.