Police seek legal backing to impose a ‘limited’ state of emergency

The police have asked the government to pass legislation that will give them the
right to impose a ‘limited’ state of emergency in particular areas should the
situation on the ground require such intervention to maintain public safety.
The disclosure comes from Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney who said the
proposed legislation has been presented to parliament with debate expected
anytime soon. He added that the police sought to have the proposed legislation
include several provisions that will assist with their crime-fighting efforts.
“One of the things that we don’t have in Antigua and Barbuda is this ‘limited’ state
of emergency measure so that if there is a problem in a particular area you could
impose that and deal with the situation in that specific area. We do not have that
legislation here,” he revealed.
According to the commissioner, the legislation is already in effect in several
Caribbean jurisdictions. These include Belize, where it was used recently,
Barbados, Jamaica, and several others.
“These are some of the changes that we are asking for in our legislation that is up
for review by the parliament. That would assist us in dealing with a problem in a
particular area,” he reported.
Additionally, the commissioner said the police also want the legislation to allow
them to use new modern crime-fighting tools such as mace, and taser guns.
“The use of non-lethal weapons is the way to go, as there are a number of
situations that you can de-escalate with non-lethal weapons, so we want the
legislation to assist us with that,” he stated.
He added that the legislation could also cover the use of body-cams by officers,
and for such evidence to be admissible in a court of law.