Overkill that will backfire

THROUGH an internet blog which is relentlessly intemperate, reckless and often deeply offensive, crass public conduct calculated to outrage and offend, and wild allegations of conspiracies at every possible level, Senator Stuart Syvret has been diligent in casting himself in the role of a thorn in the flesh of the establishment.

It was this kind of behaviour – rather than his much-vaunted but highly questionable reputation as a child abuse whistle-blower – that cost him a place in the Council of Ministers. More recently, it also played a part in provoking a States colleague to urge him to commit suicide, a foolish and callous response which should cost Senator Jim Perchard his own ministerial post.

However, although Senator Syvret resolutely refuses to play by the rules and might have gone as far as breaking the Data Protection Law in his determination to plough a lonely and obsessive furrow, he has just been treated badly, inappropriately and even absurdly by the forces of law and order.

There can be few Islanders unacquainted with events which unfolded on Monday when the Senator was arrested at his home in Grouville. It is nevertheless worth spelling out that a duly elected Member of the States of Jersey was arrested by a team of eight policemen who arrived in four police cars. He was then detained for more than six hours at police headquarters. During that time he was questioned for an hour and a half and his home was subjected to a comprehensive and inevitably intrusive search. Ultimately, he was released without charge, though inquiries continue.

This bizarre chain of events raises deeply troubling questions about the attitude and judgment of the States Police. Had it been launched in response to a serious crime or imminent danger to the public, it might be comprehensible and entirely justifiable. The same cannot be said of suspected offences of a kind which could be investigated less dramatically and aggressively.

The episode also raises questions about the level of seniority at which the decision was taken to subject a States Member, however provocative, to treatment of this kind and about the future implications for all citizens of this application of powers tucked away in the relatively new Police and Criminal Evidence Law.

Senator Syvret’s actions have on more than one occasion been irresponsible, unpleasant and legally questionable, but the heavy-handed approach adopted during his arrest and lengthy detention, as well as being excessive and plain wrong, have played directly into his hands, politically speaking. He has always appeared to want to be a martyr and his martyrdom in the eyes of those who share his ludicrous vision of a corrupt state bent on limitless cover-ups, victimisation and systematic injustice is now absolutely ensured.

Article posted on 8th April, 2009 - 3.00pm
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