HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon has endorsed the view of Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee that wiretapping has complemented police investigations, and assured that the intercept of telecommunications complied with all the legal procedures. Dr. Luncheon was at the time speaking to members of the press at a post Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the President yesterday, responding to a question about certain clauses in the wire-tapping legislation regarding requests to telecommunication companies.
The legislation gives authority to the Commissioner of Police, the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, and the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority to request that a judge direct telephone companies to intercept the communication of a person without his or her knowledge.
In October 2008, the wiretapping legislation was passed in the National Assembly and subsequently signed into law by President Bharrat Jagdeo as the government pursued efforts to improve the intelligence gathering capacity of the security forces.
The legislation recognised the importance of the use of technology in the fight against crime, and is seen as a useful instrument in the acquisition of evidence to detect and prosecute offenders.
The passage of the Interception of telecommunication Bill attracted much debate and a heated exchange between the Leader of the Opposition, People’s National Congress Reform, Robert Corbin and Minister Rohee.
It was pointed out that safeguard mechanisms were written into the Bill to prevent the abuse of this provision by individuals. It also makes it a criminal offence for persons to illegally intercept electronic communications or to use the legally intercepted communication for any other purpose than in the prevention or prosecution of a crime.
The installation of Close Circuit Television Vision (CCTV) cameras in the city is also part of the effort to beef-up security, and this too has given a boost to security investigations, according to Dr Luncheon.
He said efforts are still being pursued to have all 40 cameras installed, even though there are nine sites where cameras are yet to become functional. (GINA)