Police’s Profiling Practice Can Be Challenged in Court

Michael Peyrefitte

We also asked the Attorney General about the continued policing profiling. Police officers continue to stop and search persons, especially young black males, record their personal information and snap pictures of them. It is a practice that has been highly criticized because not only is picture-taking beyond the remit of Section Nineteen of the Police Act illegal, it is also viewed as profiling. According to Michael Peyrefitte, the police profiling can be challenged in court.

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General

“If he believes that there is no law that prevents him from doing that and if he believes that is the best way to fight crime then he would proceed. Then if someone wants to challenge him, anyone has access to the court to challenge him. All I know is that within the law, our law does not allow for profiling doesn’t allow for detention except if it is a case of emergency. It does not allow for pictures to be taken of a person, information to be taken from a person if that person is not arrested and charged. If you decide to charge an individual then the law states clearly that that individual is to be finger printed and photos to be taken. It doesn’t make any provision that you are allowed to do that before a person in charge. The Commissioner can easily say well there isn’t any provision that says you can’t do that. So maybe that is the procedure he is following. I would think that the police do not have the power to simply stop any and everybody they want for no reason whatsoever and take their picture. I don’t see the value in that but if he believes that there is nothing that prevents him from doing that then he would do and he would just have to be challenge and then the court will have to determine, because the law maybe silent on that specific, that the Commissioner is either allowed or not allowed to do that.”