But today the only vehicle the men were riding in was the police van to be escorted from the police station to court and back. However, unlike the civilians in the van, the police men wore no handcuffs. The ComPol had an answer for that too, he explained that not every criminal has to be handcuffed.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I don't know about that. I can't manage everything. I am just one person. I would have expected that if they are going to handcuff, then all should be handcuff. If they are not going to be handcuffed, then none should be handcuffed. There is this thing where we believe that every prisoner should be handcuff, but the truth is the summary jurisdiction offences act, section 99 of that act clearly state that you only handcuff a prisoner where there is a risk of that prisoner escaping or causing harm to you or other prisoners. When officers escort prisoners to court I don't tell them what to do from what not to do. I would simply expect that they are going to do the right thing in so doing, but at the end of the day, I do agree that if any of the prisoners are handcuffed, then all should be handcuff, if not then, none."
Reporter
"Wouldn't it be better to be safe than sorry and just handcuff them, because you never know who is going to escape, it could be somebody for a basic marijuana charge who would want to escape."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We regard these persons as high-risk prisoners and even though yes we might not think that they may escape, the fact that they are suspects in a drug seizure which have international implications with cartels, we never know who might want to come to rescue them, so I agree with you so to not err on the side of caution that they should all be handcuffed."
