Say No to Any State of Emergency in Antigua & Barbuda
According to reports in the Antigua Newsroom online newspaper of August 11th, 2023, the police have asked the government for “legislation” that would “empower them to enforce a ‘limited’ state of emergency in specific areas…to ensure public safety.” This request definitely warrants public scrutiny in view of the fact that the Police have been touting their successes, and the laws that are meant to guide their decisions in the field, do not appear to be impeding their efforts in any way. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case.
In the Observer of 12th August 2023, the Chief of Police, Atley Rodney, is quoted as saying that “the Criminal Investigation Department ( CID) has observed a noticeable decrease in criminal matters, signaling a potential step forward in the realm of public safety.” According to him, crime “numbers are going down” and there are “signs of improvement.” To allay any suspicion that his positive outlook could be an exaggeration, the Chief of Police mentioned that “about 30 firearms have been confiscated” and that “the cooperation of residents” has helped them achieve that milestone. To top it off, the Chief said the Force was being “proactive.”
All of the strategic elements are aligned in their favor. The parameters of the law that help to keep Police activities within the framework of legality and that are meant to be protective of constitutional rights have enabled the positive outcomes the Police have had. If the police crime report is accurate, then they do not need a “limited” state of emergency and certainly not the enhancement of their lethal arsenal, to include “mace” and “taser gun,” to reduce crime. Are they aware that mace can impair eye sight and is detrimental to asthmatics and the taser gun can induce kidney damage, respiratory arrest, amnesia, and in some instances, even death? Do these likely outcomes even bother the police? It may be that the police and the government have more than crime fighting in mind.
Antiguans and Barbudans should be concerned that a police force which has already proven that it is capable of indiscriminately tear gassing peaceful demonstrators, as happened on August 8th of 2021, and has also shown that it can commit extra judicial killings, as the Killing of unarmed, Mr. Mannie James on the 31st of July, 2023, in front of his family and residents of Grays Farm was, would be the same Force regimenting their lives under a strictly enforced state of emergency. A state of emergency allows the cessation of everyone’s democratic rights. It sanctions the interruption of daily existence and puts the entire community under the direct supervision and management of the defense force and police. It would terminate the existing norms that govern how the police should interact with people and how it can procure evidence when investigating an alleged crime.
At present, Stop and Frisk allows the searching of your person and belongings without probable cause when you are out in public. Under a state of emergency, these operations would be implemented more rigorously in regimented communities. There exists the likelihood that during this declared “limited” state of emergency, the police would be permitted to forego the use of search warrants to enter and search your home. State of emergencies always encourage official, reckless behaviors.
There exists no antagonism or incongruities between working to reduce crime and maintaining the human dignity and the democratic rights of every citizen. A state of emergency will threaten those protections. It is the adherence to these standards, limited and precarious as they are in the Antigua and Barbuda constitution, that may offer marginalized, underserved and unrepresented communities, like Grays Farm and Point, some modicum of protection against officially sanctioned violations. That is our responsibility.
You see, the police like the state, of which it is a part of, acts like the force it is above society. The police do not think that it is bound to have any allegiance to workers and everyday people. That is why they never appear to hesitate when ordered to carry out violence against demonstrators or seemed to have evinced any empathy when they were authorized to haul residents out of their homes in the Point area, in April of this year. Nor did they show reluctance to supervise the forced removal of Barbudans to Antigua in 2017. Each time the police are asked to act against the people, they become more accustomed to pushing them around, and the more they become disrespectful of the rights of certain classes of people. Antiguans and Barbudans should thus be fearful of any state of emergency because your police have gotten accustomed to abrogating your rights in the interest of the government. Barbudans understand this. Antiguans are aware of it. It is a good sign that both are saying a loud “No” to any state of emergency.
