HGP Nightly News – Motorists in Guyana should not be detained, sent to police stations or deprived of their vehicles and key documents for a wide range of common traffic offences that are meant to be handled by ticket, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has warned.
Nandlall’s remarks place the spotlight squarely on the rights of drivers during traffic stops and on whether some police officers are overstepping the legal boundaries set out under Guyana’s traffic laws.
Speaking on his weekly programme Issues in the News, the Attorney General said the matter has triggered strong public response, with many people reaching out to him after he previously addressed concerns about motorists being detained or their property being withheld for offences that the law treats as ticketable.
He said the legal framework was deliberately changed years ago to move away from a system where drivers accused of relatively minor traffic breaches could be dragged to police stations, made to wait for hours, or have their licences, insurance and vehicles taken from them.
According to Nandlall, the purpose of introducing ticketed offences was to allow police officers who believe a traffic offence has been committed to issue a ticket and allow the matter to proceed through the legal process without unnecessary detention.
“It is to write that person a ticket, and if the person wants to plead guilty, the person can do that and pay the ticket, or attend court and contest the ticket,” he said.
The Attorney General disclosed that there are about 37 offences that fall within this category of ticketable offences. These include driving an uncertified motor vehicle, driving without a driver’s licence, failing to produce a licence, refusing to provide a present address, breaching the conditions of a provisional licence, exceeding the speed limit, failing to stop when required by a police officer in uniform, failing to equip a vehicle with seat belts, failing to wear a seat belt, leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position and riding a motorcycle without a safety helmet.
He said the list, along with the fines attached and the relevant provisions of the Road Traffic Act and regulations, would be sent to the media so that the public can be properly informed of which offences should result in a ticket rather than detention.
Nandlall stressed that once an offence falls within the ticketable category, the law does not authorise police to detain a person or their property simply because the officer believes the offence was committed.
“There are about 37 offences that are ticketed offences, meaning that if a policeman believes that these offences have been committed, the policeman ought to write a ticket, and no one should be detained in relation to it,” he said.
He warned that police officers who ignore that legal framework and instead detain motorists, seize their vehicles or hold on to important documents could face serious consequences.
“Any police officer who, instead of issuing a ticket for any of these offences, detains any person, or detains their property, their motor vehicle, that policeman is liable to be sued,” Nandlall cautioned.
According to the Attorney General, such conduct could expose officers and the State to claims for false imprisonment, wrongful arrest, unlawful detention of property and constitutional breaches of personal liberty. He also said that criminal charges could arise in appropriate cases.
Nandlall noted that as Attorney General he often has to defend matters brought against the police in the courts, even where the allegations concern conduct that appears plainly inconsistent with the law.
“And some measures will have to be taken in relation to the policemen and women who are violating the law,” he said, suggesting that stronger action may be needed against ranks who continue to disregard the ticketing regime.
His comments now cast renewed scrutiny on everyday traffic stops across Guyana, particularly where motorists complain of being forced off the road and into police stations, or being deprived of their documents and vehicles for offences that should legally be dealt with by ticket.
