00:00Justice Minister Devish Maraj gave an update of the announcement he first made when he wound up the Senate's debate
00:06of the legislation for a parole system in Trinidad and Tobago.
00:10I am pleased to announce that the proposal to establish a multi-agency dissuasion commission implementation committee that's along with
00:21the coordinating the phase implementation of the pilot dissuasion commission has been approved by Cabinet.
00:32At the COPELAD's opening ceremony for the presentation of the toolkit and initial launch for the implementation of the dissuasion
00:40commission which took place at the central bank in Port of Spain, Minister Maraj provided additional details about the purpose
00:48of the commission.
00:49At its core, this initiative recognizes that the complex challenges associated with substance abuse disorders cannot always be addressed through
01:00the blunt instrument of incarceration alone.
01:04With the establishment of this committee, these diverse stakeholders represent the beginning of a structured national process to ensure this
01:17model is both sustainable and effective.
01:19In the Senate, the Justice Minister had this to say about it.
01:23A dissuasion commission, Mr. President, will be comprised of certain people within the criminal justice system, a representative of the
01:33judiciary, DPP, AG's department, where small offenders, which contribute a large part of the intake into the criminal justice system,
01:44The dissuasion commission, the dissuasion commission, is going to review those cases to see which of those cases will go
01:52straight to the court system or who can be dissuaded through rehabilitative programs.
01:59The Justice Minister said on Tuesday that Trinidad and Tobago is, in his words, deliberately advancing to a more modern
02:06system of justice, inclusive of a system of parole.
02:09The needs of the victim, the offender, and the community will be taken into account by a process which aims
02:18to preserve the safety of all.
02:21The Act addresses the overarching issues of reform and rehabilitation of the parolee and public safety.
02:32We also introduced the Victims' Rights Act 2026, which recognizes the role of victims within that process.
02:43Minister Maraj also spoke about the recent amendments to the Probation Act.
02:48The dissuasion commission, therefore, builds directly on this trajectory of reform.
02:56It represents the next step in advancing early intervention by creating a structured pathway, focused on treatment, support and reform
03:08for eligible persons involved in minor drug-related offenses.
03:14The Justice Minister said it complements existing initiatives, including the Drug Treatment Court process.
03:22Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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