“Lawlessness” on...

This move by the Top Cop is to ensure that all traffic officers remain active and up-to-date with the Force’s Traffic Department operations. Hicken, in closing, emphasised that “we must get this fixed”, indicating that “no haphazard behaviour” would be tolerated.

Tougher penalties

Last year, amendments were passed to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act to toughen up the penalties for those who cause the death of another person by driving under the influence, by introducing the offence of vehicular manslaughter. “Any person who causes the death of another person by the driving of a motor vehicle on the road or other public place while under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle shall be guilty of motor manslaughter and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years,” reads Section 35A of the Act.

The amended Act also puts a three-year ban on persons convicted under it, from obtaining or holding a driver’s licence after their release from prison.

A second conviction of a similar offence, the Act states, will lead to the person being permanently disqualified. During the court process, the suspect will also be required to surrender their licence – failure of which will result in a fine of $100,000 or imprisonment for three months.

Moreover, pursuant to Section 39A of the statute – the penalty for driving over the alcohol limit has moved from a fine of $7500 to $200,000 and the sentence from 12 months to 24 months.

The penalty for driving under the influence and losing control of your vehicle has been increased from a fine of $30,000 to $60,000,

FROM PAGE 8 or imprisonment for 12 months, to $200,000 for firsttime offenders, and $300,000 for second-time offenders.

Section 39G also amends the Principal Act’s description of the prescribed alcohol limit. As a result of this amendment, the prescribed limit now means breath alcohol concentration of 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath or blood alcohol concentration means 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Amendments to the Intoxicating Liquor Licencing Act, have imposed heavy fines on liquor establishments for selling alcohol to persons who are already intoxicated and then going driving.

In addition, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, while addressing the National Assembly, had noted the causal relationship between drunk driving and the high number of road fatalities, dubbing the amendments as a timely law-making intervention to address a “chronic” problem.

Campaigns

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is continuing its countrywide campaigns aimed at encouraging drivers to practice safe road use. At such campaigns, drivers are lectured on the road safety theme “Arrive Alive, Stop Speeding, Don’t Drink & Drive”; obeying traffic officers, signs and functions of the traffic light; adherence to the speed limits, and maintenance of motor vehicles.

They are advised against using handheld devices while driving and driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Drivers are also advised to ensure that their driver’s licence and other documents are up to date before using a motor vehicle. Police statistics show that driving under the influence of alcohol and excessive speeding are the leading causes of accidents in Guyana.

“The project has a legislative component…out of that we have produced the Bail Act, the removal of custodial sentence on small quantities of marijuana and cocaine, the exploration of sentences alternative to custodial sentences, sentencing guidelines, the abolition of preliminary inquiries in criminal matters, amendments to the plea bargaining legislation, the overhaul of a set of archaic offences going back to colonial times which have become completely redundant.”

While noting that the GPS is a central part of the criminal justice system, Nandlall pointed out that with the way things are evolving, there is a move away from punitive sanctions and a concentration on the rehabilitation of the offender and exploring restorative justice.

He added, “The Prison

Service requires the ability to rehabilitate, reorient the perpetrator or the convict and prepare that person for a new beginning when they are released from prison. That cannot be done if the prison is not equipped with the hardware and the facilities to allow that type of programmatic development to take place so that the inmates can benefit.”

Under the programme, the AG said that the men- tal health of prisoners will also be examined. “We are working to improve mental health facilities in the prison because a large number of the prison population, they suffer from various illnesses which include mental health issues.”

Meanwhile, Director of Prisons Nicklon Elliot expressed that he was pleased to accept the donation and assured that the equipment would be used to make prisoners “marketable” when they are released from prison. This, he noted, is something the GPS would continue to strive for.

“Last year, we would have trained 1400 persons in different skill areas. And this year, we are seeking to ensure that all categories of prisoners are exposed to the various types of training programmes. Our general focus will be towards addressing holistically the rehabilitation efforts in the prison and externally to promote the reintegration aspect because we recognise that the stigma and discrimination are still there…”

Elliot noted that the GPS’s rehabilitation programmes have contributed to a drop in the recidivism rate which has decreased from 13 per cent in 2021 to 10 per cent in 2022. (G1)