Latest update April 26th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 10, 2018 News
Laws which criminalized obeah, vagrancy, suicide and other offences might be no longer, as Attorney General Basil Williams S.C, and a team met on Monday to review existing legislation and propose recommendations of amendments for Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Cap. 8.02.
The Minister and his team met with consultant, Mr. Peter Pursglove S.C, who is contracted under the Support for the Criminal Justice System Programme (SCJS).
The Attorney General has highlighted that a prison sentence is usually an inappropriate sanction, especially for non-violent, minor offenses.
Various alternatives have been implemented in other jurisdictions, such as bail, seizure of travel documents, periodic reporting to police or other authorities, electronic monitoring or curfews, and conditional and suspended sentences.
According to a statement by the chambers of the Attorney General, “It is envisaged that these proposed amendments will include the decriminalization of some current offences and the recommendation of alternatives to imprisonment in respect of certain summary offences, particularly those of a minor and non-violent nature. These objectives will be achieved through both amendments to existing legislation and the drafting of entirely new legislation.”
In these discussions, it was rationalized that the criminal law of Guyana contains several categories of offences that in other jurisdictions have now been decriminalized. Many of these offences carry a sentence of imprisonment if the perpetrator is found guilty.
For example, offences concerning roguery and vagabondage, vagrancy, obeah and witchcraft, incorrigible roguery, attempt to commit suicide and criminal defamation are now decriminalized, in whole or in part, in many jurisdictions thus reducing rates of imprisonment.
“In such cases, decriminalizing the behaviour and dealing with it outside the criminal law has not resulted in any negative impact on public safety. Other offences may no longer warrant the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment and may now be dealt with by way of fine or other non-custodial sanctions,” the statement added.
These activities are intended to impact the Criminal Justice System by increasing the use of Alternative Sentencing in the Criminal Justice System.
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