00:00The threat from within and outside of prison walls which existed in terms of the formation
00:05of a criminal enterprise wanting to wreak havoc on the country, prompting the imposition of a
00:10state of emergency, has been neutralized. So says Attorney General John Jeremy, Senior Counsel.
00:17Based on what the government calls the tangible benefits of the SOE, another course of action is
00:22being pursued as the SOE is set to come to an end on January 31st. The disclosure comes from Jeremy
00:29as the government points to a 42% reduction in homicides inclusive of gang-related murders
00:35as at the end of December 2025 when compared to 2024. Statistically, it translates into 626 murders
00:44versus 369 murders. We intend to lock in those advantages which have yielded tremendous results
00:55in terms of the drop-in homicides, the drop-in woundings, and the drop-in violent crime
01:02in general. And our first attempt to do that would be with respect to the ZONES legislation.
01:11Jeremy is expected to move the second reading of the Law Reform Zones of Special Operations,
01:17Special Security and Community Development Measures Bill 2026 in the House of Representatives
01:22on January 16th. Two other bills, namely the THA Amendment Bill 2026, and the Motor Vehicles
01:31and Road Traffic Amendment Bill 2026, will also go before Parliament that day. At this time,
01:38very little has been disclosed on what the ZONES of Special Operations Bill entails.
01:43Of course, I cannot speak to the specific provisions of any of these bills, but the legislation which
01:51is before the House is intended to ensure that there is a measure of proportionality between our responses
02:06and the threats which we now face. So that instead of a national state of emergency,
02:15we propose to concentrate on hot spots.
02:20The confirmation from Jeremy comes after information was leaked to the media last week
02:24that staff at the AG's office were engaged at a time in the drafting of the ZONES of Special Operations
02:30legislation, which is to function like community SOEs. Other unconfirmed remarks were made in the
02:38dissemination of the information pertaining to curfews, arrests and charges, and detention.
02:43In addition, the constitutionality of it was brought into question.
02:48Well, as the country awaits more details, the AG has this to say.
02:53There is legislative precedent. I think I can say that without going into the bill.
03:00There is legislative precedent for what we propose to do.
03:03There are checks and controls. There will be judicial oversight. There will be some time constraint
03:12in respect of how long a designation of a particular zone of operation, how long that designation
03:21can last. And there will be procedures set in the bill to govern who exactly can declare somewhere
03:33a zone of operation.
03:34As for what happens to over 100 people who have been detained under the present SOE,
03:40and if their detention would be sustained or be discontinued, here's the AG's response.
03:46The logistics which are being worked out by the Minister of Homeland Security and the police
03:53as we speak. And I would not like to speak to that today.
03:59Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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