The government has engaged a Canadian consultant to develop a comprehensive national database of traffic offenders, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has announced, describing road traffic as a growing national problem that requires urgent systemic intervention.
Speaking at the opening of the Partnership of the Caribbean and the European Union on Justice (PACE Justice) Regional Programme Judicial Training on Criminal Trials and Appeals on Monday, Nandlall said the consultant is already working closely with the Guyana Police Force to build out the system.
“Road traffic is a major problem in this country so we have hired a consultant from Canada who is working with the Guyana Police Force to input all the data of traffic offenders as far as we can go and that data will be accessible to the judiciary, more particularly the magistracy,” Nandlall said.
The database will give magistrates direct access to offenders’ driving histories, strengthening enforcement by supporting the existing licensing regime that allows for the suspension and eventual revocation of licences for repeated offences. By digitising and centralising traffic records, authorities aim to close information gaps that can hinder decision-making in court, particularly in cases involving repeat offenders.
Beyond the traffic database, Nandlall revealed a broader pipeline of legal reforms. Amendments to the Sexual Offences Act, which will include the establishment of a sex offenders registry, are expected to be taken to Parliament shortly.
“We have in the pipeline amendments to the Sexual Offences Act which we will take to Parliament very shortly and that has in it a sex offenders registry and we are moving in that direction now in creating registries,” he said.
The Attorney General also disclosed that a new comprehensive evidence bill is being developed to modernise court proceedings and bring Guyana’s evidentiary framework into the digital age. The new legislation will allow for the admission of computer-generated documents, films and other modern technological material as evidence — a significant departure from Guyana’s current Evidence Act, which dates back to 1893.
