Email

Print

Last night, we showed you our interview with Cabinet Minister Anthony "Boots" Martinez who said that the Government is against the recent practice of the police of snapping pictures of people who they've stopped and search. 

The opponents to this new practice condemn it as the police profiling citizens, which is illegal, and today Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte agreed. This evening, Peyrefitte explained:

Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - Attorney General
"Any police officer is he believes that a person is guilty of a crime, about to commit a crime, have illegal drugs or weapons on his person. That policeman with that reasonable belief can stop and search an individual. Now a policeman cannot say oh well I just don't like Daniel, I just don't like Isani make I search him, that is illegal to do and no one will ever support that. The law is very clear as to when a person's picture can be taken by the police. If the police choose to charge a person with an offense and at that point the person's photograph is to be taken and their finger prints are to be taken. If that person is eventually found not guilty of the accusation then the fingerprint and the photograph ought to be destroyed. Sometimes when I look at the news I am very distraught to see that the news would display photographs of people that are charged and those photographs just happen to be their mug shots of photographs taken by the police. Those photographs should never be made public before that person is found guilty but that is the situation, that is the law and I am indeed going to prepare a formal paper for cabinet with the full details and analysis of that situation and all the laws that go with it because let me say this. Like I said it is illegal for a police officer just randomly search anybody for no reason and to take their picture for no reason. Be that as it may the police are trying their best to solve a crime situation that is spiraling out of control. It does not excuse engaging in something even remotely illegal to try and arrest a bad situation that you have but I have not been informed or I don't know of any situation where information was taken and used in a negative way. Be that as it may you cannot take a person's picture; you cannot stop and search a person just like that for no reason."