00:00On Friday, the government will bring legislation to Parliament, which will give the Prime Minister the ability to declare certain communities special zones.
00:10A move former Chief of Operations at the Defence Force, Norman Dindial, warns, poses serious constitutional concerns.
00:18There are key constitutional concerns and an inherent risk of becoming a police state.
00:23The Bill's provisions, allowing search without warrant, curfews, and detention without due process, contravene the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, specifically Sections 4 and 5, which protect the right to liberty and security of the person.
00:41Furthermore, granting the Prime Minister, as head of the National Security Council, sweeping powers to declare zones and impose restrictions, undermines the principles of democracy and the rule of law.
00:54Dindial is also asking, where is the data? As he further warns of the risk of stigmatization and profiling.
01:02Labelling an area as special zone can lead to stigmatization, driving crime further underground and making it harder to address.
01:12The Bill's provisions may disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
01:17And in the absence of substantiating data of how these zones were actually established and the criteria, it can exacerbate the existing social and economic inequalities.
01:29He's advising the government to learn from what he views as regional and international failures.
01:36In the Jamaican context, where we want to frame our use of the zone of special operation, there have been examples of human rights abuses and a failure to reduce crime.
01:47And also in the U.S. stop and frisk policies, we have also seen that it has been ruled unconstitutional and has led to widespread protests.
01:56In fact, Dindial believes the push for special zones is an admission of the failure of consecutive states of emergencies.
02:05The state of emergency previously declared by successive administrations to combat crime failed and also did not address the root causes of violence that led and have led to human rights abuse cases filed against the state.
02:20Declaring special zones can be seen as a repeat of the same failed approach and prioritizing enforcement over addressing social economic issues.
02:29The House will meet at 1.30 p.m. tomorrow.
02:34Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
