Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has warned that members of the Guyana Police Force who detain persons for ticketable traffic offences expose themselves to criminal prosecution, civil liability and constitutional claims.
Speaking during his weekly Issues in the News programme, Nandlall said officers who unlawfully detain motorists for offences that carry no term of imprisonment could face criminal charges for false imprisonment, civil lawsuits for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment, as well as legal action for breaches of citizens’ constitutional rights. He added that unlawfully detaining motorists’ vehicles could also amount to violations of the law.
He explained that if an offence does not carry a term of imprisonment upon conviction, there can be no legal justification for detaining someone before they have even been charged or convicted.
“If an offence doesn’t carry a term of imprisonment, when you are convicted, how can it have attached to it some form of detention when you’re not convicted? Worse yet, when you’re not even charged?” he said.
Nandlall stressed that the presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of the law and argued that detaining someone before trial for an offence that does not attract imprisonment is both unlawful and illogical.
He reiterated that ticketable offences are intended to be dealt with through the issuance of tickets rather than arrest or detention, except where other lawful grounds exist.
During a previous edition of Issues in the News, the Attorney General noted that the road traffic laws provide for approximately 37 ticketable offences, including driving without a valid driver’s licence, speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt, operating an uncertified vehicle, and failing to stop when directed by a uniformed police officer.