They aimed to better understand the justice system in terms of who is being prosecuted, for what, case flow management, treatment of women and children, the conditions of detention and other important factors. Interestingly, the report found that 70 per cent of the offences in the entire system were those that would be classified as petty. These are essentially economically driven and public nuisance offences that have the government as the complainant, as opposed to living persons. They include touting, lack of business licences and permits, being drunk and disorderly, loitering, profiting from prostitution, et cetera. Critics of these laws posit that they have been historically used as tools to remove or banish the poor and ‘undesired’ from public spaces.

Source: Standard Digital July 24, 2020 09:22 UTC