The Police Minister also spoke about preventative detention. As the Prime Minister had indicated, government is committed to go through with it - but Singh says we've gotten it wrong: the proposal is not for detention of 90 days, it's 21 days. He explained:..
Doug Singh, Minister of Police and Public Safety
"First of all, it is not 60 days or 90 days as is being touted there by members of the media, and certainly by members of the Opposition. It certainly is not that; I don't know where that number came from. In the initial piece of legislation that was submitted - that was being proposed - it was 7 days, up to a maximum of 30 days. The Government is looking at, perhaps, an outside period of 21 days, perhaps may be between 14 to 21 days, certainly with checks and balances, certainly with provisions in there for the protection, and to avoid the abuse."
As currently proposed, a judge would have to give the order to extend it to 30 days. The preventative detention law will require a constitutional amendment which Singh says will necessarily go through the required process of consultation. He says the provisional legislation will detail the safeguards against abuse that will be built into the law.
And for those who aren't quite clear on it, preventative detention means detaining someone for up to three weeks on the suspicion that they are somehow involved in a crime or gang activity, even though police don't have reason to charge them.
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