Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 03:02

Attzs warns: Some communities in zones could be stigmatised

INDEPENDENT senator Dr Marlene Attzs has warned that designating certain communities as zones of special operations could cause them to be permanently stigmatised. She was contributing to debate on the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operation) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Bill 2026 in the Upper House on January 21. The bill, an anti-crime measure, creates zones for hotspot communities, which are presided over by a “joint command,” comprising police officers and soldiers working alongside a social transformation council. Attzs, an economist and university lecturer, said, “As we contemplate the zones of special operations, we must be careful that in our determination to confront criminality, we do not inadvertently stigmatise entire communities. “And that is a concern I have heard raised in other spaces and in public spaces as well, that I want to be clear that we are mindful that we do not stigmatise communities.” She believes the concern is warranted. “There is a danger that law-abiding citizens, who may abide in some of these so-called hotspots, the hard-working parents, the students who have ambition, the elderly residents who have endured decades of hardship, that they become collateral damage to any policy that we implement.” Attzs said, “Our objective as a country, as legislators, must be to isolate the criminal elements and not to label communities. We need to protect residents and not turn them into silent victims of discrimination.” She said this concern becomes especially acute when one examines Clause 24 of the bill, which empowers members of the joint force to require persons within a zone to disclose their personal information. “While operationally it might be understandable, repeated and indiscriminate use of such powers risks embedding a perception that entire neighbourhoods are under permanent suspicion.” Attzs said research from other jurisdictions shows that once a community is branded a special zone or zone for special operations, the stigma often lingers long after the operation ends. “Employers hesitate, banks hesitate, schools hesitate and children begin to internalise the belief that where they come from defines who they can become. “Mr President (Wade Mark), I am sure that is not something that anyone of us in this room would wish to happen.” She said she was certain that several members of the Senate have heard of instances “where persons who are writing the SEA exam, their parents or guardians decide that they are going to use somebody else’s address because they don’t want to put where they actually live for fear that they get zoned.” Attzs added, “So I come from a particular space, I might be zoned so I use my grandmother or my godmother address or somebody who can verify that’s where the child lives.” The senator’s contribution was underpinned by a 2024 study: Trinidad and Tobago Criminal Dynamics, done by criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad. The study, she said, noted that violent crime was neither random or spontaneous. It further noted that crime is the product of long-standing social and economic breakdown rooted in poverty, weak educational attainment, family instability and limited, legitimate opportunities for our young men. Attzs said the study also estimated there were more than 180 active gangs in TT involving more than 1,700 individuals. She said the study also noted that nearly 40 per cent of murders are gang-related. The study, Attzs said, suggested that, “Enforcement alone does not dismantle those networks and where policing is not accompanied by sustained police intervention, sustained youth engagement and economic inclusion, economic activity is displaced rather than reduced.” She said the crime situation is foremost in the minds of citizens. “The fear of crime is real, the suffering of our citizens is real and the urgency for action is very real. “Families are traumatised, businesses close early, communities retreat behind gates and fear and there is a concern that our young people grow up believing that violence is normal. These are not abstractions. They are lived realities to thousands of Trinidad and Tobago nationals.” Attzs warned, though, while there is an acknowledgement of the scourge confronting the country, urgency to treat with the menace should not give way to short-term thinking. “Fear must not override reason and decisive action must never displace our duty to constitutional care. “This debate, therefore, Mr President, is not simply about whether these zones of special operations can suppress violence in particular communities but rather it is whether they can suppress violence lawfully, legitimately and in a manner that produces lasting stability rather than temporary calm.” The post Attzs warns: Some communities in zones could be stigmatised appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.