Employees held under SOE shouldn't lose jobs - attorney

Business owners in Montego Bay are being urged to exercise patience with employees who may be detained under the ongoing state of public emergency (SOE) in St James, even as fresh concerns are being raised that detainees' rights are being abused.

Chumu Parris, vice-president of the Cornwall Bar Association, made the call during a brief address at last Wednesday's monthly meeting of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where the SOE was one of several subjects under discussion.

"What I can say to business owners now, having now been sensitised to what the realities are on the ground, is that perhaps once these young men are detained for a period of time, they shouldn't necessarily lose their employment," said Parris.

"That is the main concern they (detainees) have because if they miss three days, they automatically lose their jobs. [But] there's not much we can do at this stage when an officer decides to detain someone under the SOE, and a young man can be detained for up to three months without being charged," Parris added.

Parris also suggested that the lengthy detention of persons under the SOE, which was launched in St James on January 18, should be addressed.

"What you find happening is that the investigative arm of the police piggybacks on the SOE to keep persons in custody who are, perhaps, persons of interest. Because they have this lengthy period of detention, they don't necessarily move forward with investigations on that individual because he has three months to prove himself, so the human-rights element is something that needs to be addressed," said Parris.

In June, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell, the commanding officer in charge of the SOE in St James, pledged to investigate any reports he should receive of security personnel abusing their authority.