LOCAL LEGAL SNIPETS
(FIBS)
MAN TO SPEND FIVE MONTHS IN JAIL FOR DRUGS:
A JCR man received a custodial sentence in court this morning after he pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of controlled substances. Tony Dixon, a Second Steward, had in his possession 31 grams of Class B drug, Cannabis, and 2 grams of Class A drug, Cocaine. The substances were found in his cabin onboard the ship yesterday afternoon, after a joint search operation on three vessels in the harbour. His was the third cabin searched before the sniffer dog indicated that there was something to be found. Also seized was other paraphernalia consistent with the use of the drug, Cannabis. In sentencing, Senior Magistrate, Nick Sanders, gave Mr. Dixon full credit for the early guilty plea and full co-operation with the police, and the fact that he had no previous convictions. But even though the drugs were for his own personal use, it still couldn’t be excused. He said that the Falkland Islands maintains a very drug-free policy and, that the only way to deal with the case was a custodial sentence.
For the possession of a Class A drug, Mr. Dixon was sentenced to 5 months in jail and two months for possessing Cannabis, which is a total of 5 months to run concurrently.
WITNESSES TO GIVE VIDEO EVIDENCE:
Yesterday the Supreme Court gave directions in the case of a youth who is committed to trial on two cases of rape. The directions were made under the recently enacted Criminal Justice Ordinance 2000. This allows the witness including the complainant to give evidence by live link. This means they will be able to give their evidence to the Court without actually going to the courtroom. And, the main evidence of the complainants will be pre-recorded and shown to the Court. The aim of this is to maximise the quality of evidence and to reduce the fear or distress caused to witnesses in cases like this. The trial of the youth is still planned for January, while the Chief Justice is in the Islands.
SNIFFER DOGS PROGRAMME:
The sniffer dogs involved in the drugs search onboard the BAS ship, James Clark Ross yesterday, arrived earlier this week. I asked the Civil/Military Liaison Officer to tell me more about the dogs.
AM: We are actually testing the ability to deploy the sniffer dogs world wide under the pet passport scheme. We are using this location as a test to see how the dogs actually fare coming down, how good we are at doing the paperwork that is required to actually bring the dogs down – veterinary paperwork and the like – and we bring them down for three weeks and we bring them back to the UK. Whilst they are here, they will be used basically in Military areas for a standard preventative counter drugs sweep. It sounds very technical but that’s how we actually describe what they will be doing here. Whilst they are here, they will also be used by the Royal Falkland Islands Police and customs service, basically assisting them on a case by case basis.
CG: There are two types of dog, aren’t there, in the way they are trained? Explain a little bit about this.
AM: As you say, there are two types. The first type is the active type and that’s the type you normally would see that runs around the luggage in a way with its tail wagging. And, the second one is what we call a passive dog which is a bit more subtle about the way it detects potential drugs. That tends to sniff the air and sit by a potential drugs find.
CG: Have there been any problems so far with all the paperwork and documentation getting them into the Islands?
AM: I don’t think so. It’s gone pretty successfully. They came down a couple of days ago, they have had a period of 36 hours whilst they have settled down to being on the Islands. And, I believe we have been trying to use them in various circumstances.
CG: So, if this works, will there be sniffer dogs here all the time in the future?
AM: No. The whole idea of the exercise is actually to see whether we can move these dogs around. They are obviously a limited asset so we would just move them around to areas where the British Forces are actually working. The question is, can we move this limited asset around the world? In this case, we can take them to the Falkland Islands but could we take them to other locations throughout the world?
(100X Transcription Service)
