President of the Rotary club, Hiranand Thani, (centre) with the scholarship winners from the Interact Club at Queen’s College.
TOUGH LAWS NEEDED
Supreme Court Judge in Bermuda, Justice Carlisle Greaves, believes that the justice system in Barbados takes too long to do things.
His comments came as he delivered the feature address on Crime and Judicial Process Improvement during a dinner meeting of the Rotary Club at the Accra Beach Hotel and Spa on Wednesday evening. Greaves, who served as a magistrate in Barbados before migrating to Bermuda, noted that he believes certain things need to change in the justice system if there are to be any improvements.
He noted that like Barbados, Bermuda use to have a major gun problem and the Bermuda Government responded with tough laws.
“They outlawed firearms for all people. So in Bermuda it became unlawful for anyone to possess a weapon or firearm of a barrel of less than 24 inches; and they gave firearm a very wide definition, so even the fisherman’s flare gun got caught,” he said.
Following the outlawing of firearms, Greaves noted that there are some serious penalties. He announced that the first conviction penalty came with ten years in prison, and if a second conviction came, they added another five years to the previous ten. He reported that this technique worked for years.
Greaves also believes that the Barbados Justice system should take note of the swiftness in which they brought a man to court following the solving of the crime.
“So the cases for example that went to the Privy Council went through the Magistrate’s court, the Criminal trial court, the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council in about two years. In Barbados, you haven’t even started your preliminary inquiry,” he said.
Additionally, he noted that the sentencing in Bermuda is also rough, and believes Barbados should also take note of this.
The members of the Rotary Club also took time out of their meeting to honour the members of the Interact Club of the Queen’s College Secondary School who received scholarships.
President of the Rotary Club, Hiranand Thani, expressed that they believe it is important to recognise the success of their junior members.