-allow for use of ‘less lethal weapons’, DNA to identify criminals

SEVERAL key pieces of legislation were tabled at the 28th Sitting of the 12th Parliament, on June 10, which are intended to modernise Guyana’s approach to crime fighting, and using contemporary and scientific methods of investigations, that will inevitably boost the State’s prosecutorial capacity.
Of the bills tabled relates to changes to the Police Act, which will be amended to include ‘less-lethal weapons’ in the definition of ‘arms’, and an amendment to allow the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) information, for the purpose of identifying persons in custody of the police.
Amendments to the Evidence Act were also tabled, which seeks to allow the report from a Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) evidence officer admissible in a Court of Law, and to make GFSL certificates and forms receivable by the courts, as well as adding ‘hair’ to the list of objects that can be examined by an analyst.
Also, an additional paragraph was tabled to be added to Section 20 of the Firearms Act to allow an analyst of the GFSL to carry a firearm and ammunition during and for the purpose of the execution of his duties in the area of ballistics, without having to possess a licence.
“The whole gamut of these amendments is intended to modernise police method of investigation and to make them more scientific-based, all in an effort to strengthen the State’s capacity to investigate, prosecute and secure convictions,” Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., told the Guyana Chronicle during an interview on Sunday.

‘Less-lethal weapons’
Pursuant to proposed amendment of Section 2 of the Police Act, less-lethal weapons include nightsticks and batons; chemical irritants, such as pepper spray; electrical weapons, such as taser guns; kinetic impact projectiles, such as rubber bullets and a water cannon.
Nandlall explained that this is all in an attempt to expand and encourage the use of these less dangerous weapons by the Guyana Police Force in civilian type encounters. He reasoned that a ‘taser gun’ for example, would prevent someone resisting arrest, in a worst-case scenario, being shot and fatally injured. “Crowd control measures now are different from what crowd control measures would have been 30 years ago. Things like tear gas and so on are frowned upon and should only be resorted to in extreme circumstances, so you have lighter weapons like tasers that just stunts you for two minutes while the police effect a peaceful arrest,” Nandlall said. The Attorney-General highlighted that the gamut of amendments introduced is to effectively equip the local police with all the facilities that are available in international policing, as police are now resorting to more scientific and technologically savvy methods in conducting their investigations.
“The technology is such now that it allows you to take a more expansive range of human sampling to store in a central database in relation to persons who have criminal records or have had long and established interactive relationship with the police,” Nandlall said, noting the addition of DNA is to build the scientific data of the police.
The explanatory memorandum of the bill, proposed to amend Section 43 of the Evidence Act, states the purpose of doing so is to better provide for the role of the officers of the GFSL and other analysts when required to give evidence in court proceedings. Nandlall noted that it would allow for greater use of the laboratories, such as the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, located at Area ‘M’ University of Guyana Complex, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown.