Amid public outrage over the disclosure of emergency order violations on criminal records, Commissioner Paul Rolle said he will seek the attorney general’s advice to determine the way forward for people who were convicted of such crimes.
Rolle explained that people who were convicted of breaching the curfew in a Magistrate’s Court will see that conviction on their police record. However, he said now that police officers can issue tickets, offenders have the option to pay and avoid convictions or take the matter to court and fight the charge.
“Prior to the change…in the emergency orders that permits police to issue tickets, those initial ones, the persons who appeared before the court, those would be recorded as convictions,” Rolle said.
“I had a look at that last night and we’ll be seeking guidance on that as to the way forward in terms of how we will deal with those.
“ I should be able to advise you better after my consultation with the attorney general on the way forward in dealing with those matters.”
The Royal Bahamas Police Force has been heavily criticized after a police record of someone who was convicted for violating the curfew order made the rounds on social media.
“We don’t want to see people having convictions, but that is the law,” Rolle said when asked about the criticism.
“It has to be corrected or adjusted in legislation. That’s not the domain of the commissioner. That has to be addressed elsewhere. We don’t want it to be an impediment to persons.”
The post Rolle responds to concerns over emergency order violations appearing on criminal records; says he will discuss way forward with AG appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/rolle-responds-to-concerns-over-emergency-order-violations-appearing-on-criminal-records-says-he-will-discuss-way-forward-with-ag/
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