00:00Last week, Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissessa announced that going forward, her government will treat every occurrence of assault or battery as an expelable offence in schools and an arrestable offence to be put before the courts.
00:17Today, Beckles tells the morning edition that mass expulsions are not the answer.
00:23She's calling for real investment in education, intervention and support for staff and students, not reactionary discipline.
00:31She says school violence is not unique to Trinidad and Tobago. It is present in the region and the U.S. as well.
00:39I'm certainly not in support of the government's decision to simply say that we are going to expel everyone, whether you have an active participant, whether you are an observer,
00:52whether you are somebody taping. Now, I'm saying all of those persons must are playing a critical role in the act itself, but at the same time at different levels.
01:02Weighing in on the government's proposed stand-your-ground legislation, Beckles acknowledges the deep concern in the country over violent crime and rising homicides.
01:13She says she shares those fears, especially as they relate to safety, but warns that the solution cannot be to give citizens a license to kill.
01:24You have the stand-your-ground and then you have the castle doctrine. One basically saying my castle is my home. So in New York and a couple of other states, they are saying you can use force if somebody comes into your home.
01:39In Florida, they are saying in terms of your stand-your-ground, if somebody comes into your home or even in public spaces, you are entitled. You don't have to retreat.
01:48According to Beckles, any move towards stand-your-ground legislation must begin with full public consultation.
01:57She says the nation must be clearly informed about the version of the law the government is proposing and how it would work in practice.
02:06The PNM leader also says she is open to meaningful collaboration and dialogue, making it clear that national safety cannot be treated as a partisan issue.
02:17Ensure that you have consultation, but let us not just comment on a particular issue where we have never seen the legislation.
02:26And I have made my position clear that I am willing to collaborate. I am willing, if it is necessary, to meet with the government, because my responsibility as leader of the opposition is to ensure that when we speak legislation, when we speak crime, when we speak solutions, that you remember that you have a responsibility.
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