ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder.
By KEILE CAMPBELL
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder revealed at Thursday’s Senate meeting that the government plans to amend the National Crime Intelligence Act to improve the legislative framework related to the intelligence aspect of combatting crime in the country.
Mr Pinder acknowledged the important role that intelligence plays as the government tries to get a handle on gang violence in the country.
“We passed an anti-gang bill that creates a host of serious offenses for being a member of a gang or committing crimes while being a member of a gang, but in order to properly implement that you need proper intelligence,” the attorney general said.
“Intelligence is key and paramount to collecting the evidence necessary to prosecute under these laws we’re passing.”
He said that the amended National Crime Intelligence Act will better facilitate the gathering of intelligence, particularly targeting organized crime.
Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander previously stated the use of technology is an integral part of the 2024 policing plan, as well as introducing a new drone unit.
Last month, the Royal Bahamas Police Force hosted their inaugural technology expo, where the police force exhibited the latest technology they use in their crime-fighting efforts, inclusive of CCTV cameras, vehicles, ShotSpotter technology, and drones.
Attorney Bjorn Ferguson told the Tribune that the current Police Act does not contain provisions for the use of facial recognition and drone technology.
According to Mr Ferguson, Section 38 of the Police Act outlines how the police may use images and recordings, which the act does not permit taking photographs of individuals who are not in custody or save facial images in a database comparing them with other facial images in the database.
The attorney called for legislative reform, reasoning that certain intelligence-gathering technology used in police work can’t provide a societal benefit absent of the regulations and laws to govern the use unless risking ethical and societal concerns.
Comments
ThisIsOurs 4 weeks, 1 day ago
"you need proper intelligence"
The operative word being "proper", because intelligence can misguided i.e., youre collecting good but wrong and useless things, or bad, i.e. your info is faulty. I hope one day we get to the place where all 30+ individuals in parliament are critically assessing every dot and title in these proposed laws and only back laws they deem are in the public good and that they would want applied to themselves as ordinary citizens with no executive power.
Also this foolishness about putting "young people in the senate so they can learn" is stopped immediately. The Senate is a human intelligence (HI) structure and fact checking organization. Putting inexperienced people in that body who have no depth of legal knowledge or historical context for legal knowledge is beyond useless. You want people in the senate like Hubert Ingraham, Fred Mitchell, AD Hanna, Sean McWeeney, the brightest of the brightest in law and legal context
If our system is to work, these are the two basics that need to be transformed
"According to Mr Ferguson, Section 38 of the Police Act outlines how the police may use images and recordings, which the act does not permit taking photographs of individuals who are not in custody or save facial images in a database comparing them with other facial images in the database"
I hope this remains the case. It would be useless to store photos of individuals without cause. It takes alot of processing time/power just to do name matching, adding useless imagery to a search is counterproductive. I hope the intelligence gathering would be more strategic than this
The final piece of the puzzle is the immediate elimination of anyone without high moral character from the police cadet core. Stop the blight at the source. Make entry into the police force hard, and increase the salary to match the stricter requirements. On the backend start to do internal vetting from the senior levels. Senior officers have way more influence on law and order outcomes than junior officers. Investigate unexplained funds and sources of funds and weed out corruption from the top.
Porcupine 4 weeks ago
In my world, there would never be an attorney allowed in political office. Haven't we watched enough damage done by the barristers?
ThisIsOurs 3 weeks, 6 days ago
Just because the system is bastardized doesnt mean it cant work. I dont see the purpose of placing persons who dont have legal historical context in the senate. But if theyre non lawyers theyd have to be very intelligent and hard working in individuals.
rosiepi 4 weeks, 1 day ago
The next coming announcement will pertain to the hundreds of millions that has already been crony-contracted for such assistance.
Sigh, this “new day” of transparency and responsibility almost makes one long for the old days days of ‘honest’ open corruption, that for which Bahamians’ needs were still served. A rich man’s son might not go to jail for murder, but drug gangs and their toadies didn’t run Ministries and the RBPD…
Porcupine 4 weeks ago
Ouch!
Twocent 4 weeks, 1 day ago
Did the Attorney consider education when he made his statement and “acknowledged the important role that intelligence plays as the government tries to get a handle on gang violence in the country.” Our D Minus education system breeds a lack of intelligence from the outset of a young man’s life. In living conditions where mold rages rampant, lack of nutrition plays its part in brain development, and prospects for a self-respecting manhood are overshadowed by our own countries elites hoarding the very resources that could change that, this nation seeths with a survivor mentality; and as anyone who has lived that knows…you need strength in numbers. Sneaky spying, CCTV, and facial recognition are not going to make things better. The KGB didn’t make Russia a gang-free place ;)
Porcupine 4 weeks ago
Exactly right!
Porcupine 4 weeks ago
This headline basically says, "Bahamian constitution now meaningless" Bahamians, along with many others, have virtually no rights anymore. Despite what our constitution says. These changes were made mostly by lawyers who are trained to use language to deceive. Read the frigging Constitution of The Bahamas. It doesn't say anything about a group of people rescinding our most important rights under the guise of fighting crime. This country is lost.
ExposedU2C 4 weeks ago
The amendments to be made will bring the National Crime Intelligence Act more in line with what the controlling ChiComs consider to be best practices for a police surveillance state where you and I will be expected to do without the fundamental rights to privacy and liberty guaranteed by our Constitution.
Yup, make no mistake about it. The leadership of this most corrupt and incompetent PLP government led by Stumpy Davis continue to line their own pockets by selling us out to the ChiComs who have bribed them to gain dominion over what was once our nation.
TalRussell 4 weeks ago
Trust us, says KC, AG! --- Coming soon to street corners, alleyways and jibs, climbing atop lamp poles by local enforcement investing in spytech recognition, whilst arguing their funding is exclusively all about crime observation tools will lead to the reduction and prevention of criminals coming into the surrounding neighbourhoods. --- Yes?
sheeprunner12 3 weeks, 6 days ago
The New Day intelligence can be summed up in the Adrian Gibson case ....... All they need is a head bashing, card carrying Judge
ThisIsOurs 3 weeks, 5 days ago
Your faith in Mr Gibson is admirable. Everyone, even the worst criminal, needs someone to stand by them as a function of being human. But be careful when standing by questionable behaviour, support is better placed if you encourage a person to turn toward positive things. I een sure about all this alleged fake directors and shareholders business.
Absolutely no correlation as the two cases are polar opposites but while I abhor what he did, I see PDiddy being failed by alot of people around him. Family, friends, coworkers, Hollywood, the police, the hotel, at any point someone could have said I saw what you did and you need to adjust. Oddly enough similar to the statement from Kirk Cornish's girlfriend "I just wanted him to get help". Instead people praised him, encouraged his excesses, reveled in the benefits of being near him, looked the other way, let him off easy and some covered for him, it "seems" he never learned to regulate his behaviour.
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