Jersey Approves Indefinite Detention Of Suspects Without Charge

IN Jersey it’s not all vintage cars, child abuse and tax avoidance.  

THE Home Affairs Minister has sent shock waves through the legal profession by authorising the indefinite detention of suspects without charge.

On 5 June, Senator Wendy Kinnard amended the criminal code that had limited pre-charge detention to 36 hours.

She did so under delegated powers enjoyed by the minister under the terms of the Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law.

However, that same law states that before such changes to codes are made, the minister is required to publish a draft of the changes and consult interested parties. She did neither of these things – a failure that has left the Island’s criminal lawyers stunned.

Hold on, it was all a mistake. She didn’t mean it, not really…

THE police ‘do not and will not’ have the power to detain suspects indefinitely without charge, the Home Affairs Minister said today.

In a statement read out in the States, Senator Wendy Kinnard insisted that she had not given them the authority to do so by ministerial order.

Senator Kinnard apologised for the way in which an amendment to the law on detention, now withdrawn, had been handled and indicated that a revised amendment would be put forward.

Anorak

Posted: 20th, June 2008 | In: Police Log, Politicians, Twitterings Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink