The recent Federal Court ruling in granting bail to a Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) detainee awaiting trial is a step in the right direction.
The police must take immediate cognizance of this decision as it has far-reaching consequences in the use and probable demise of preventive laws in future.
The over-reliance on preventive laws such as Sosma, has become the bane of transparency and accountability within the justice system, as it has been misused many times in the past. Natural justice demands much more.
Preventive laws were inherited from our colonial past and were a great necessity then. However, they have outlived their usefulness, especially after the war against the communist insurgency ended.
Politicians have also in the past misused these powers to suppress political dissent, adding on to the distrust of these draconian laws, at the expense of the police.
The age of trusting those in the corridors of power to do the right thing without effective checks and balances by the arms within the parliamentary system, is coming to an end.
The police have understandably become dependent on these laws as their powers of investigation have been, to some extent, curtailed and eroded by giving more rights to a suspect from the time he is identified.
The western ideals and beliefs have led the way for more sensitivity towards human rights and we are a part of this global evolution.
The turning point for the criminal investigation arm of all the relevant enforcement agencies here, can be traced to a time when judicial rulings changed the amount of evidence required at the prima facie stage – from any evidence as long as it is not incredible to evidence beyond reasonable doubt.
As a result, many other tools of investigation were affected and gradually eroded. Among them were detention, further detention and administrative restrictions to using confessions.
This was further compounded when some remand applications were subjected to mini summary trials. Suspicions, hunches, investigative instincts among others could not be pursued and thus the honing of these natural investigative skills deteriorated and investigators turned to preventive laws.
The police, in many cases, when unable to collect all available admissible evidence, naturally turn to these draconian laws to get the job done. To a certain degree, this has also contributed to the escalation of distrust and loss of confidence by the public especially when there are political undertones involved.
Time will gradually dilute these draconian preventive laws in a modern and progressive society. The police, in preparation, must swiftly reinvent, enhance and rejuvenate their police powers as stipulated in the relevant laws.
They must move forward to ensure that all the tools of criminal investigations are enhanced with the relevant checks and balances within their own framework of supervision.
They must ensure that investigators are given every opportunity to explore evidence gathering at the investigative stage, so as to ensure that justice is not only done to a suspect identified or in custody but also to victims, especially in serious crime offences.
The system must allow the full extent of all admissible evidence to be gathered and investigative tools must be given the judicial support in getting to the truth. Linking offences that do not create an atmosphere of terror to terrorism is unprofessional and will not instil confidence in society.
The future in modern policing lies in transparency, full accountability and strict adherence to fair processes without fear or favour, within a firm, non-partisan criminal justice system that has effective checks and balances at every step of the process.
G. Selvakumar was a former police officer and is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.