TT Parliament passes law to allow fingerprinting of visitors, deportees

The Trinidad and Tobago parliament on Monday approved legislation allowing for the authorities to finger print visitors and deportees entering the country.

But opposition legislators voted against the Miscellaneous Provisions (Administration of Justice) Bill 2013 which needed a special majority to pass, citing human rights violation.

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan defended the passage of the bill, saying it will assist in the fight against crime in the country.

“What we have here is the distillation of thoughts and the collective wisdom of a number of stakeholders that are involved in the fight against crime and, I dare say, as a Parliament, we have a duty and a responsibility to respond positively to the clarion calls made by those involved in the fight against crime on the ground for the necessary legislative tool that can equip them to raise the detection rate that is so abysmally low in our country.”

Ramlogan sought to assure critics that nobody will suffer discrimination under the new provisions.