The authorities here are being urged by the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) to “Bring back Tiyani Behanzin”.
The UWP says its suggestion if taken up will help reduce the growing crime level on the island.
On February 28 2009, Behanzin was appointed magistrate by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) and was given a two-year contract by government.
However that contract was not renewed.
Now Opposition Leader Hector John is suggesting that government should reinstate him because of his expertise and non-tolerance for criminal activities.
“The first action I would take is to bring back one of the persons who had been playing a significant role in helping to curb the crime problem we had in the North of Dominica. He played a role inside and outside of the courtroom. We should have taken that around Dominica,” he said.
According to John the government should seek to engage Behanzin, the son of former prime minister Rosie Douglas, in that regard.
Meanwhile UWP leader Edison James is advocating the setting up of a special court to deal with criminal offenders as another method to tackle crime on the island.
“We need to look at a special court, even if it’s for a time, to expedite the process when people are apprehended. There was a time when we brought in some Australians because of a serious backlog of cases…we need to look into that again ,” James suggested.
He also wants to see the Inter-denominational Committee Against Crime and Violence become more vocal.
this is the only sensible thing i have heard from the opposition..i agree bring tiyana back.. he was controlling the crime level in da… he is great..
lets put politics aside and do the right things for once.when Tiyani was recruited into the system we all knew what happen and saw the change he made,there were some errors as expected but it was for the love of country,now there’s a robbery every other day here in Dominica so what’s the next move Dominica. Shall we contd politicking AND ALLOW Dominica to go astray.well Dominicans it’s time to rally to take our country back from the criminals who bent on committing crimes with no end..solidarity march for Tiyani Beyanzin.help our country father lord and plzz give the officers the arms they need and a proper place to leave..stop treating our officers like animals the powers that be. stop having officers walking around with 1975 .38 pistol and criminals with semi automatic rifle robbing credit unions.give our officers proper weapons to work with commissioner n stop saying we doesn’t have firearms and the armoury loaded..we need a foreign commissioner to change all them nonsense..
Hey, the goal of the current PM is to eradicate/exterminate the Douglases and bring them to complete extinction (Roosie, Shawn, Tyhani)… I don’t know whose behind Ian kissing for him to stay in DLP still.
Please bring back Tyhani!! (Like it so going to happen)
That boy just needs to smoke some Marijuana! Period.
Ok, I am liking what I’ve been hearing from the UWP of late. I completely agree all the suggestions made within this article. My hope is that Dominica’s best interest is put first and he is resigned to multi year contract. I also fully support the idea of a separate criminal court. Keep up the positive suggestions. There is hope for you’ll yet.
The crime level have really beeen raised in the last year,but one magistrate cannot curb the problem of crime in Dominica,as I said before Tiyani has political ambitions,whereas he is not fit to be a magistrate unless if he becomes nuetral,which I believe will take time.Tiyani might be agressive in sentencing criminals,but he has to stay nuetral and not personal.
DONT RENEW HIS CONTRACT….HE IS TO ROUGH ON GUYS LIKE ME
I glad he rough on guys like you! Cause we need to exterminate guys like YOU from our society!
people like him we need.. to keep people like u behnd bars…u do the crime serve the time..no nonsense.. u man to break the law be man and take ur jail..
Well the same people crying for him to come back are the same ones who were saying that his sentencing were too stringent. Even his fellow colleagues were calling for his resignation. Remember?????? You never miss the water till the well runs dry.
i am in a bind here figuring out which party i voting.
if tiyani joins the uwp i think he will give the party a huge rating boost. labour going down flat.
politics in dominica is all about popularity then everything comes after.
look at my dear pm, he entered because he ws popular for being a teacher and having dimples.
let tiyani enter popular as a crime fighter
Very well Edison, I will not critique you on this one since I am in agreement with you on your thoughts of a special criminal court!
I would like to suggest also that we recruited some foreigners into the police force also; people who’s objectives would be to properly conduct investigations without biases, with no political or family interference, which is a common practice in our country.
So too, it would be proper to get rid of the all the incompetent judges, and magistrates who are incapable of rendering decisions, which are specifically based on the principle of the law, and not based on feelings and political influence, and favoring one side over the other.
I would like to suggest a foreign chief of police; and there is nothing wrong with that thought, since there has been a foreigner police chief, i.e., in Trinidad. Unless the judicial system is cleaned up the special court may not make much difference.
The obstructionist within our court system must be removed, it is not even a wise idea to recruit judges and magistrate from the other islands of the Caribbean, because when we do; we are still deal with, or are still contending with the old West Indian mentality the of these people are:
” well since the government gave me a contract, if I do not rule in their favor, and their political supporters my contract will not be renewed.”
And the reason they behave that way is because many of the islands of the Caribbean faces the same challenges Dominica; lack of employment opportunities even for people who whishes to be lawyers, judges, and magistrates.
It matters not what degree a person holds, if there are no opportunities in the place of ones birth, it is likely there will be nothing for that person to engage themselves into, unlike North America, and Europe, where we find people with law, and medical degrees, go out of such professions and work in other fields.
Case and point, about five years ago, a judge in the City of San Bernardino approximately seventy miles North East of Los Angles could not be found, he simply walked off the Bench; where was he found?
Dominica of all places attending classes at Rose Medical School!
Not many West Indian professionals could have done that, even id they left and came to the United States, it is unlikely they could find employment here unless they attend law school in someone of these states.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
This seems to be a global epidemic spanning all aspects of society.
It is cheaper to buy white rice, bread, flour sugar, etc, even if there is greater and more costly processing of the raw goods and the effects on the body is so much worst than the brown rice and sugar, wheat flour and bread. We seem to go for what’s cheaper even if it’s bad for us; even if it kills us.
Well, it’s the same thing I see here when we have someone who is doing great work for his country, but instead of acknowledging him for such, he’s cut out and then replaced with sugar coated imitations which look and feel like the real thing, but in actuality, they’re just killing us slowly.
I don’t mean to offend anyone. People work hard for little recognition in many various fields, but this one is so glaring it’s hard not to say something about it.
all I know is when Tiyani was magistrate ,criminals were behaving themselves….
Honesty, law and order,or the constitution does not exist in Dominica any more so people like tiyani has no place there, DA belongs to “yes man” like the portsmouth parl rep, the only douglas that will accept these b.s. thats destroying the island people like miss charles rosie douglas and leblanc and so many more tried to build. what a shame! Tiyani dont sell your self like the rest of these guys from portsmouth,” anything for ar $$$$dollar”.
Honesty is not part of this administration program so they dont need honest people like tiyani douglas, he is not a “yes man” like portsmouth parl rep.
Bring the man back. We need him tooooo many crimes happening. He can put a stop to it.
Why would any Govt. refuse to renew the contract of a committed, dedicated magistrate, a son of the soil, who was simply trying to curb the increase in crimes, criminal acts and violence in our land?
Was it unlawful for Tiyani to organise sessions/ meetings with the communities and those engaged in crimes with the aim of changing their lives? He advocated that everyone should be equal before the law. He sent a strong message to those involved in criminal activities, especially to repeat offenders.
He expressed strong views against money-laundering, corruption by those in Public office, injustices, disrespect for law and order, Bad governance and so on. He is paying the price.
But who cares about putting a serious dent into criminal acts when there are so many allegations of corrupt practices and bad governance even at the highest level?
How many Dominicans showed dissatisfaction when Tiyani was cast aside? How many stood on his side, in those times of victimization, although he was trying to curb crime effectively? Do we really want to fight or curb crime? What about the firebombing of Emanuel and his wife and the police officer? What about the spate of armed robberies? What about other ‘white colour’ crimes?
It seems Tiyani is not Dominican too? When sections of any nation say nothing, express no concern, condone and make excuses for crimes, expect problems. If right is wrong and wrong is right, depending on who committs the crime, expect chaos. When some, because of ‘power’, political or economic or social, could do whatever to evade the law, while others aid and abet such behaviours, the nation and its people suffer injustice.
Is Tiyani still organizing still organise sessions/ meetings with the communities and those engaged in crimes with the aim of changing their lives?
IF ADMIN HAS BANNED ME,DONT BE AFRAID TO SAY SO. WHENEVER I WRITE, ONCE SKERRIT’S NAME IS MENTIONED, MY COMMENTS ARE DELETED. AS A DOMINICAN,YOU MEAN, I CANNOT GIVE ANOTHER DOMINICAN AN ADVISE.ALL I ADVISE THE SON OF ROSIE TO DO IS TO GO UP FOR ELECTIONS,WITH THE HOPE OF BEING PRIME MINISTER LATER. YOU GUYS HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT OR YOU ARE MAD BECAUSE I RECOMMEND THAT HE SHOULD RUN AS A UWP MEMBER.
You are right on that. AND DNO MUST BE PLAYING POITICS.
Don’t worry Behanzin to intelligent to run with losers!
all you doh see what happening there nah. de man was well good in what he was doing but D/A not democratic anymore. what skerro want is what he will get. him and his boys, his people and dem. as long as they in power D/A will have a rain cloud over the land. all kinds of negative things happening now and den man take out the one man that could do something about it. it’s all a game for them and they getting paid so they doh care.
but why bring him back if indeed he is and was never a magistrate but i did like his work crime was down and people use to talk about him like me i behaving i doh want to face that man so lets put that aside already dominica has a shortage of magistrate so give let him do the job he did it before and the results were great BRING HIM BACK
I honestly believe that this man should be reinstated into the justice system
Giving these law breakers a slap on the wrist is just not going to cut it anymore
These criminals should be sent a message,zero tolerance on crime
We do need a special task force along with the aid of the community to deal with our local known drug dealer
We all know them.
Everyone think’s that jailing the out laws is the solution to the problem,these guys were not born criminals.There is no work for those young guys to do, not every one want’s to be a farmer,nothing to stimulate these young minds. Remember Mano did it at one time and it has gotten worst, so tell me if that’s going to solve anything in terms of stoping crime.
I don’t want to be a farmer, should I turn to crime? There are other things these young people can do. There are many projects going on that they can get involved in, but then want quick money so instead of hard legal work, they turn to crime.
I’m not going to make or let anyone make excuses for laziness. Foreigners come here, work hard for little pay, save money and at the end of the day even end up owning their own businesses while these young men plan robberies, rapes and murders and you want to make excuses for them. I don’t support that at all.
I agree 100% with Hector.these r the kinds of issues u need to bring up.that’s making more sence instead of all those nonesence u talking sometimes.
I have a suggestion: How about we bring back Father GOD, in our lives, in our homes, in our children’s lives and in our land?. While we need prudent and honest judges in the land to ensure the laws are upheld and the punishment fits the crime, we should not lose focus on “prevention is better than cure”.
Perhaps if people will raise their children in the fear, nurture and admonition of the Lord then we will have less criminals. We let T.V. raise them and we call for better judges to impose tougher sentences.
It is written that we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to live by His words (counsel)and to also teach them DILIGENTLY to our children when we sit at home, when we are out of the house, when we lie down and rise up (Deut.6:5-7). It is only by the word of God can a young man clean his way.
Why don’t we look to God, first and foremost to heal the land? why lean on flesh? “cursed is the man that trust in man and make flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from God….Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope the LORD is”.
That is a very beautiful point. We have definitely lost our way when it comes to raising our children. Even the parents get caught up in this television thing so badly that they themselves don’t see it as a problem.
The thing is though that even with the best of instructions not every one will take in the Word. So for those you don’t, we need Mr. Tiyani Behanzin.
Please give Ma Dominica a chance to breath because so much things are going wrong. Criminals are running a mock and they need to have the brakes applied to them, so bring back the man that have made a difference in crime like (Follow) we need Behanzin..
Push to decriminalize Marijuana first(we are not any better than St/Vincent in that regard), then bring him in. He is only on a mission against Marijuana, hard crimes have always been a side thing for him.
Bring what back….Roosie Douglas son, who was gaining popularity all around the island to overshadow me.
Listen Dominica, I am not joking with you all, no one, not one person going to come and take my office from me.
They can kill and rob as much as they want to, my house is well fenced, got SSU and those I care for are well protected.
Hector and Edison, don’t even waste all you breath, thousands of Dominians have signed petition, once election is over, majority rule no more, I’m in charge, and I say that he is not going to get an opportunity to be more popular than me.
This is my Dominica, I’m going to rule for as long as I want, when and if I see fit, and if you people behave and stop asking for ridiculous gifts, I will give someone else an opportunity to be in charge of all you.
For now, I’m in charge, and I’m large….deal with it!
IN OTHER WORDS YOU ARE SAYING GO TO HELL, THAT NO LAW, NOT EVEN THE CONSTITUTION CAN STOP YOU. CA QUAY GAS. AND YOU COMMENTED NOT ON THE MAYERS-HART, ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY ISUUE.IN THE A.M YOU WERE WATCHING THEM WITH YOUR BINNOCULARS AND SMILING, WHILST YOUR PORT HOLES RESURFACED. WHAT CHINESE TRAVESTY. ONE VIDEO.
ONLY JUDGE JUDY OR BEHANZIN COULD PUT LAW AND ORDER. FAIR AND SQARE, BRING BACK BEHANZIN PLEASE.
This is one area where I agree with the Opposition. Bring back Tiyani Behanzin!
please, please bring him back!
I AGREE WITH MR JOHN HECTOR TO BRING BACK MR BEHANZIN EVEN THOUGH HE HAD HIS WAYS BUT HE WAS WELL RESPECTED BY THE GANGS CUZ THEY KNEW ANYTIME THEY REACH IN BEHANZIN COURT ROOM THEY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS.I AM JUST SICK AND TIRED OF EVERYTIME I VISIT DNO IS ALWAYS A HEART BREAKING STORY.THIS CRIME WAVES NEEDS TO COME TO AN END.
While the “Good Magistrate” had quite an impact on crime, the flip side remains the fact that he erred on several occasions which resulted in successful appeals by convicted persons. Given that fact, i doubt that there is ever going to be a renewal.
To err is human. Bring him back now souplay!
mr lawyer ease up nah. jealousy
your brain empty like papi own.
I firmly support the motion for Tyani’s return. Everything this man said came to pass, they freed the guy from Calibishe/ Bense, and later he was slaughtered in a shed. They freed Thomas guy from Portsmouth, he was killed. Tyani had a vision for the justice system of this Country to take a twist, instead they twisted his hands in exchange for crimes. A typical case with America, the American constitution on formulated of the principle of God’s word, and now a preacher was jailed for reading the Bible in public. Dominica wake up!!! We call good bad and Bad good, May justice be returned in this so call peaceful land of ours, Bring back the Douglas magistrate, to straighten the State if that is an English word!!!
That man is needed badly in the Criminal Justice System. Attorney General, DPP, Magistrate or Commissioner Of Police will suit him very well.
You talking about the principles of God? Let us practice what we preach and be examples in the nation… no wonder the land is crying out, so much innocent blood shed and immorality
wow what a handfull these opposition people are,so what they are saying in fact, that tiyani is the only magistrate that can deliver strict judicial sentences,come on stop feeding of the street views for political points,i see this views on DNO all the time,i rebuke that suggestion,that speaks to lack of confidence in the judicial system in dominica,and that should not come from government or opposition officials,leave that for the small man,behanzin is not an island,no man is.
The reason why we want him back is because he was and is the only judge that do not take directions from the GOVT especially from th PM he stands on the facts and the law
What really prevents Behanzin from to continuing to work with young people even while DLP, UWP, PAPPY, DFP play thier politics? Is he still workking with the young people in Wesley? Has he rectify the issues concerning his credentials?
Put the egos aside and bring back Tiyanzi. The man was doing a remarkable job as a judge and a leader in society.
The man was engaging when government officials were no where to be found. You all got rid of the guy and no one has filled the void he left behind.
Which one of those ‘Grudges’ you all have there that doing any community outreach?
They conspired to get rid of the guy and they eh doing nothing but tempting the populace to comprehend vigilante justice; the only force they have is on marijuana.
Listen to the people man, and bring back the guy.
Tiyani for PM.
haha oh gad this one take me wi. for real. pm
criminals would migrate wi
You are so right . That was/is definitely on Tiyani’s agenda!
There are much too many corruption involved in the crimes that tarnishes the Dominica name.And for that reason there will never be anyone to control those who control the high levels of the corruption group.Tiyani is the best crime fighter in Dominica, but the corruption group will never allow him to do his job as it should be always done.
bring back Tiani my foot! Is so we want to deal with the gang problem then. while i apploud the police for doing a very goood job, i still think they need to be a little more aggressive in dealing with the ‘big drug lords’ anf must understand that friendship or acquaintance must not interfere with their work.
Hater!!!!!! Thumbs down to you!
‘BREAKING NEWS’ The opposition UWP in Dominica says Tiyani Behanzin will stop crime in the country if he is brought back to sentence Dominicans as he sees it fit.
You have a hidden agenda!!!! You are back with your attacks!
if tiyani helping to keep off crime and our educated politicians and law enforcement keeping him out cant you see that he putting his skin too much in their business?
cant u see that he is too much on the good side therefore he will bring down all the bad?
why keep him out when he was very efficient at what he did?
jealousy among lawyers, and psychology elsewhere
a fraid dey fraid i say!
One man is not an Army. Personally even if he does not come back it is ok but we really need more like him.
People who are willing to go the extra mile.
Good suggest Hector John. Criminal activities are starting to destroy this country both internally and externally, since visitors too are at the receiving end of the criminal rampage. We need men like Bainzin to keep some of these criminals in check.
What is Hector John doing to help lessen criminal activities. What youth devlopment activities is he involve in ?
Behanzin continues to speak to school children and young people at risk of offending! The man even continued his work in the communities while here for his cousin’s funeral, so keep attacking him!
I WOULD LIKE TO ADVISE MR.BEHANIN TO STAY AWAY FROM THEM FELLARS FOLISHNESS.YOU ARE A DOUGLAS, YOU WILL BE TORELATED BUT NOT LOVED.I WOULD FURTHER ADVISE YOU TO START PREPARING YOURSELF TO TAKE OVER THE ST.JOSEPH SEAT IN THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED WORKERS PARTY.IN TWO YEARS MR. JAMES WILL RETIRE AND YOU WILL BE THE NEXT PRIME MINISTER,THAT IS WHAT YOUR DAD WOULD WANT
Since all kind of advise is being showered on Mr Behanzin I would add this: Don’t back or throw your lot in with losers, you are better than that!
@Doc Love So Mr. Behanin is a politician and not magistrate? That’s ok! I suggest that the prospective leader of the UWP should stay away from the courts and instead engage in nuturing and empowering the Dominican youth to understand apply and uphold thier responsibility as productive citizens; keeping them away from the courts. After all we don’t want our youth to harshly punished by the good MAGISTRATE Eh? Remember preventative measures is way to go. As the good onldsaying goes “Prevention is better than cure”
I agree, bring back Benhanzin
One of the few good things from UWP, I must say they should push for him to come back..
I would have to agree with that proposal. If Gov’t cannot take the necessary measure to reduce crime, maybe mr Douglas can have a better impact.
Camem Camem asking for efficiency and positive results is asking for too much from the labor administration.
So if you want efficiency don’t ask this bunch of Mooton Batalli
The Dominica system have a way of chasing out all the best talent and leaving the rubbish behind. Teyani was the only magistrate that truly cared about crime.
And his political ambition…..
As the saying goes! we never miss the water till the well runs dry
The same happened to Mr Emmanuel during Miss Charles administration when she fired him
Teyani was a God sent to Dominica, the very same way we keep saying spare the rod and spoil the child, this is the reason why crime is skyrocketing in Dominica, getting rid of Teyani was the worst mistake this administration did
you’ve hit the nail on the head…..this place has no tolerance for persons who are competent and honest.
They get rid of you in a twinkle of an eye
i agree with bringing back tiyani…
LET ME SEE WHO GOING TO BASH EDISON AND HECTOR THIS TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DNO to add a little more enforcemnet maybe you guys should have added ” Tiyanni the son of Rosie Douglas and first cousin of the minister of legal affairs who sat buy and watch both first cousin get victimized
Could you do that for me DNO-
DNO u need a poll lets vote on that see what DA thinks. Its not about red and blue any more our DA in trouble bring him back
well hector I agree with you bring Tiyani Behanzin back guys were in check on the north since the man not there well we all know how its been.
we all want him back.dominica has too much crime
Based on this account, was Tiyani the only judge that handed down sentence that fit the crime. If so we need more judges like him.
Damm it, recently here a judge sentenced a St Vincentian national $2000 for illegal guns in DA…
Magwesay….
If Tiyanzi was here he would sent to a good 5 years….
Stop speaking from an uninformed position. Are you aware that this magistrate acted outside the ambit of the law 90% of the times. Do not tale my word for it. Check to see how many of his decisions were overturned by the court of appeal. He has never followed magisterial procedures. He must lean to act within the law first. Shame on the leader of the opposition. Sir, do you homework and be a real leader.
he is not the first and will never be the last to make errors, now how would you rate a magistrate for charging a criminal $500 for a few grammes of cocaine and another, $1000 for a spliff.
we need to destroy them criminals and stop playing politics with our legal system. wait till it reach your door
He was similar to ‘you follow’who MAMO had to fire for no following sentencing guidelines.
your strong leadership attitude did not address our problem of crime…….who would u put there to take a tough stance on crime. Tiyanni had dem man scared to approach him………THAT IS CALLED DETERRENCE u moron
mr lawyer tiyani went by the books. burn the books and set him free. other lawyers go by their gut feeling thats why they give ppl easy sentencing. like murderers out if five years, and rapists out in one year.
Pichelin Massive: “Sir, do you homework and be a real leader.”
Well said! Then again, facts, like justice, only matter to Dominicans when they work in their favour.
U have to be kidding! The UWPwee is struggling to remain relevant and in the news. Unfortunatlely for them, their utterances in the last few days only show how bankrupt of ideas they are: A lot of hot air that mean little, ideas and comments that make no snese, and conclusions that make them look as hollow as the conclusions themselves.
Why does your comment interest me? Is it because I agree that the “UWP is struggling to remain in the news?” or is it your quote from Pichelin Massive. Just gave him a hands up!
smh… go read a book my friend. bottom line…. the man curbed crime in the north. You missing the point entirely. Take the red glasses off!
As much as Tyani was, as I would believe, surbing some of the violent crimes on the island by sending the criminals to jail, he needs to respect the law and be guided by it. Most of the time his decision for sending someone to jail was based on the way “HE FELT”;his personal gutt feeling.
I support his motions of briging gangs together instead of them fighting against each other, but there were sentences that he implied that were too stiff for the crime.
Oh u mean like when de Speaker of our honorable House of Parliament refers to “how she feels personally”? why does she have to bring her emotions into it? u cyan have ur cake and still want to eat it my boy………according to u Alix Boyd-Knight is no different than Tiyani.
oh mr lawyer get real. he went by the books. the books are stiff. burn the books then.
that why hes judge he have to based on his knowledge wisdom and understanding.
All they can say on crime? Bring back Tiyani? I love Behanzin but let’s be real here. Is that the opposition’s grand design for crime fighting in the times we live in? Gotta be kidding.
My friend, take your time…breathe in…breathe out…and read slowly:
Meanwhile UWP leader Edison James is advocating the setting up of a special court to deal with criminal offenders as another method to tackle crime on the island.
“We need to look at a special court, even if it’s for a time, to expedite the process when people are apprehended. There was a time when we brought in some Australians because of a serious backlog of cases…we need to look into that again ,” James suggested.
He also wants to see the Inter-denominational Committee Against Crime and Violence become more vocal.
ok AA, simple minds like mine seem to misunderstand how expediting court matters will eliminate crime. I see it as making the system more efficient but not necessarily as the remedy for eliminating crime.. which of course my simple mind can only see in a utopic society.
@aa Edo need to make it happen! Too much talk and no action from the UWP!
It is not “the” solution but it is a step in the right direction. We need some tough measures implimented. People should able able to think twice before they act.
I too think so BRING HIM BACK HE DID A FANTASTIC JOB FOR HIS TWO YEARS CRIME AND VIOLENCE WAS ON A DOWNWARD PATH.