The Government of Belize has proposed a bill that seeks to reform how bail is granted, but senators across the aisle and social partner representatives raised major concerns, which led to withholding the legislation for further review.
The Bail Bill aims to consolidate six existing laws and modernise the legal framework and introduce tools like electronic monitoring. But while the intent was to streamline and strengthen the system, concerns quickly surfaced over how the proposed changes could harm vulnerable communities and expand police powers without sufficient checks.
UDP Senator Patrick Faber said the opposition could support the bill with amendments but flagged major issues. He said a major concern is “the dangerous expansion of police bail discretion. This section allows for commission officers to decide on bail for offences punishable upon summary conviction. The problem with this is that police officers are not always impartial adjudicators.”
Faber added, “Their discretion risks arbitrary denial, particularly in marginalised communities where people know each other; police may have some kind of vendetta against the person or against a family in the community.”
Leader of Government Business Senator Eamon Courtenay insisted the bill carries no malicious intent, stating, “There is no intention, has never been the intention here, to prejudice, punish, or marginalise sectors in our society,” Courtenay stated.
The bill also proposes that bail for certain offences, from immigration breaches to traffic and firearm infractions, be granted solely by a judge, potentially creating access barriers for accused persons.
Meanwhile, union Senator for the Unions Glenford Dennison welcomed a clause that mandates the release of an uncharged detainee after 48 hours but called out ongoing abuse of detention powers. “The abuse of the detention period needs to stop, and police officers, you know who you are, stop doing it.”