President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Keith Duncan says the lobby group will support states of public emergency (SOPEs) as a short to medium term crime fighting tool based on amendments to the Emergency Powers Review Tribunal (EPRT).

Duncan said he has taken note of the fact that based on the updated Emergency Powers Regulations of November 2021, the tribunal is obligated to review cases of detention within seven days, and cases must be reviewed within six weeks.

Detainees can still be held for a maximum of 90 days or be charged.

“This [the amendments] gives the PSOJ some comfort that the earlier concerns of the public and the judiciary [regarding extended detention without charge] have been addressed,” Duncan told OBSERVER ONLINE.

In a statement on the weekend, the PSOJ pointed out that dozens of Jamaicans have been murdered since the start of 2022 and reiterated its support for SOPEs based on the changes to how the review tribunal will now operate.

“Based on the continued surge [in murders], it would be prudent to implement enhanced measures to curtail and cauterise the extremely high levels of crime that the country faces,” said the organisation.

It emphasised that it has previously stated its support for the implementation of SOPEs as a short to medium-term tool to aid in the crime reduction and crime fighting tactics by the security forces.

“Once again, that position is reiterated with the amendment to include the Emergency Powers Review Tribunal,” said the powerful lobby group.

The statement noted that with previous iterations of the SOPEs, a major judicial concern included the abrogation of the rights of citizens predominantly through an extended period of detention without charge.

“With the implementation of the tribunal, the three-member body would be mandated to perform a compulsory review of a person’s detention or restriction of movement within seven days, whether an objection has been raised by the person. This would allow for the security forces to make a case against the person to the tribunal.

“Once a review has been done, the relevant authority shall comply with the directions given by the Tribunal. If the detention or restriction is subject to a continuation, another review would be carried out in intervals of six weeks before the Tribunal. The maximum period under which a person may be detained or restricted is for 90 days,” the PSOJ outlined.

It said that with the amendment and provision, the implementation of SOPEs, where necessary, is bolstered to work in unison with other aspects of the country’s crime plan.

It lists other pillars of the crime plan as:

– modernisation and reform of the Jamaica Constabulary Force

– updating legislation

-social and community transformation

-correctional reform

– border control

Despite the PSOJ’s continued support for the emergency measure, any new declaration of SOPEs faces an uphill battle as the parliamentary Opposition withheld its support last November, arguing that they have not been effective. It needs two-thirds support in both Houses of Parliament for the measure to remain in effect once it has been declared by the prime minister.

While the government was able to use its super majority in the House of Representatives to approve the measure, it failed to get the single Opposition vote it needed in the Senate to survive.

Meanwhile, the PSOJ said “The impact of crime is unarguably far-reaching and has direct impacts on the business community including increased costs of operations, security costs, hindrances in the implementation of more shifts for employees due to possible exposure to criminal elements and the trauma for employees and their families living in crime-riddled communities”.

Noting that crime costs the country up to five per cent of its Gross Domestic Product, the PSOJ added that “It is our hope that when residents ask for SOPEs to be implemented that the government and opposition will act in the best interest of the citizenry”.