The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Clayton Fernander says he’s frustrated by the court system, as he recounted how a man was out on bail within days after his arrest for possession of a weapon on two separate occasions.

“Very much so and this (has) not just started,” Mr Fernander said when he was asked recently if he was frustrated with the court system. “Successors, commissioners spoke about it and I will continue to speak to it.”

As a guest on Jerome Sawyer’s “Beyond the Headlines” television show last week, Mr Fernander spoke about challenges with alleged criminals and highlighted a recent situation.

“An individual was chased in a community, dropped a bag, and was able to get away. (We) found a weapon in the bag. We didn’t catch him right then,” the commissioner said.

“Later that night, we found him in the Wilson Tract area, searched him and found a weapon. So, that’s two weapons found in his possession in one single day. He was put before the court and within two days he was back out on bail.

“So, it is frustrating. We note that out of that 85 murders thus far for the year almost half of that the individuals who were killed were persons who were being monitored and out on bail for murder. That is a concern for us.”

He also said: “If you check the print media about two weeks ago there was a judge who remanded an individual who applied for bail. He was charged for murder and applied and based on information we provided to the prosecutor that if this individual is given bail either he get’s killed or if he is around his family somebody could’ve (gotten) killed. And the judge decide that he will deny bail. As I indicated he should be thanking the judge now because based on the intel that we had we note that persons were waiting for him to get bail and he would’ve been a number one target.”

Attorney General Ryan Pinder had previously said he does not believe it will be appropriate for the country to pass legislation that outright denies bail to people charged with murder given a recent Privy Council ruling that declared the matter “unconstitutional.”

However, the Commissioner suggested that in the long run the constitution will need to be looked at for a solution.

“In the long run, we may have to look at our constitution because an individual is entitled to bail. In the long run, we maybe need to look at that, but in the short term I believe that we need to appoint more judges to try and to move swiftly - swift justice I call it,” he said.

“I always commend Mrs Allyson Maynard who had that programme running - swift justice. She brought all of the stakeholders together. We had a calendar and we know what is on the agenda and we do pre-trials to make sure that the evidence lines up. If the DNA is not ready, let’s quickly go and get that so the trial would not be held up.

“Back in the day, a murder trial used to be completed in one week - but now a murder trial takes almost a month. We have to look at those instances and determine what is wrong and we need to fix it.”

Both Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander and National Security Minister Wayne Munroe recently expressed support for keeping people charged with serious crimes in custody rather than being released on bail.

Meanwhile, Mr Fernander talked about the topic of corruption on the force.

“In recent times, I think we have a grip on it. We try to remind the officers and that’s the reason why we have those assistant commissioners in there to continue to talk to our officers even with training and all of that. So, the corruption level now within the police force you could see at a minimum, but if we do find that corruption is there you’re responsible for your own action and there will be course for that.”

He also said that he was of the view that he and Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis were both on the same page when it comes to the fight against crime.

“Yes, absolutely we are on the same page.”

As for what was his first course of action as commissioner, Mr Fernander explained: “I felt the crime situation is pretty much unacceptable at this time and I thought to bring some structure, accountability and better communication.”

The Commissioner also revealed that he indicated to senior staff that he intends to do a promotion exercise before the year is out.