With the recent arrest of a high-profile businessman and his wife under a preventive detention order, the issue of PDOs has become a major topic of public discussion in Trinidad and Tobago.
Political scientist Professor Hamid Ghany notes that there is a widespread misconception that government ministers have direct or arbitrary control over the issuing of these orders.
“Primarily the Minister is not the initiator. That’s the first thing I think that needs to be clarified. The minister is not the initiator of preventive detention orders. The police apply for a prevention detention order and they apply to the minister. And then the Minister gives consideration and then the minister is the one who issues it.”
He further explained that although the order passes through the Minister, who holds ultimate responsibility, he is not the one who sets the process in motion—an important distinction that highlights the checks within the system and helps address concerns about political misuse.
“The police are initiators. They are the ones who have the intelligence. They are the ones who approach the Minister and then the Minister does his consideration. The Minister obviously takes Ministerial responsibility for it but the Minister does not start the process.”
Professor Ghany points out that preventive detention orders are not used in ordinary circumstances, but are reserved exclusively for periods when a State of Emergency has been officially declared.