Bermuda criminal justice system goes high-tech

~~Adz:Right~~ HAMILTON, Bermuda-POLICE OFFICERS in Bermuda will now be better equipped to apprehend suspects as the first phase of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) came into effect early today (Sept. 9).

Phase 1 of PACE will allow officers greater power to arrest suspects, and once arrested document those individuals through the collection of photographs, fingerprints and DNA. This documentation will then be stored for a planned national database.

According to The Royal Gazette, “High-tech fingerprinting machines have already been brought into Police stations to replace the old ‘ink and roller’ method.”

In addition to fingerprinting, Bermuda police officers will now be able to collect “intimate and non-intimate samples” from detainees, such as saliva, semen and blood, to determine or eliminate any forensic link to ongoing investigations.

Bermuda Attorney General Kim Wilson was quick to state that PACE will not only assist the police, but also serve to protect the public.

“A critical aim of this Act is to increase public confidence in the Police. [It] does this by providing clearer rules and procedures that police must adopt, and protects the rights of individuals by enhancing police accountability through transparency.”

According to Wilson, any police officer enforcing the PACE legislation must “inform the person as to the grounds and reasons why that power is being used”.

Similar transparency reporting to suspects will be enforced in future phases of the Act, which include enhanced public and vehicular search and seizure powers for the Police Force. Also dealt with in the Act are “detention time limits for persons in custody”.

“This aspect of the new legislation raises the standard of care of persons in custody and introduces additional rights to protect an individual,” Wilson said.

Once all phases of PACE have been passed in 2010, it was opined that the people of Bermuda will have a much more efficient and effective criminal justice system built on trust between the public and the Police Force. 

“[PACE] affords us a critical opportunity to implement significant legislative changes to address the challenges we face in our criminal justice system…and will contribute significantly to this Government's key objective of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour in our community,” the Attorney General stated.