PEACE AND ORDER
September 23, 2009

Criminal justice system should be overhauled and reformed. The judicial system should be reformed to remove inefficient and corrupt elements, speed up the administration of justice and ensure equal application of the law to poor and rich alike. The process for litigation of simple cases can be made faster by provision of a system of people’s courts in which litigants need not be represented by counsel but are allowed to prosecute or defend their own cases. A system of continuous trial for criminal cases should be implemented . Government should improve the provision of quality free legal aid to indigent litigants.

The prosecution arms should also be reformed through improvement of physical facilities and the strict adherence to a code of ethics.

Law enforcement must be improved and enhanced. The organizational reform and professionalization of the police agencies (and the military) must be given priority attention particularly in the areas of devolving to local government units the responsibility for community peace and order. Improvement of police to population ratios, improvement of police capabilities, and service attitudes and values should be attended to. The top priority here should be the removal of misfits and scalawags from the law enforcement agencies and the provision of laws increasing penalties for law enforcers protecting or participating in criminal activities.

Penology should give priority attention to the improvement of jail conditions Nationwide . The implementation of viable reform and rehabilitation programs can only prosper if penal conditions are conducive and prisoners are afforded the minimum essentials of human existence.

Community participation in the criminal justice system must be positively addressed. Citizen access to police and legal services must be improved. The witness protection program and other measures to improve participation must be given full support.

The major efforts to combat criminality must be on the elimination of organized crime particularly drug trafficking, carnapping, prostitution, slavery and kidnapping; and the protection of the lives and property as a minimum.

Comprehensive peace process with various groups be pursued.