By ANDRE BAGOO Sunday, April 6 2008

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Guyanese president Bharrat Jagdeo...

SWEEPING legislative changes, including a proposal to regulate the practice of wiretapping in the entire region, are among a series of recommendations agreed to by Caricom Heads of States, Bharrat Jagdeo, the Guyanese president, revealed yesterday.

Speaking to reporters outside of the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Trinidad where a special security meeting of the Caricom Heads of Government was concluded. Jagdeo disclosed that he had personal knowledge that wiretapping is done throughout the region and revealed that it was agreed by heads of government that the practice should be regulated by legislation.

“People wiretap now,” he said, “but they can’t use it for evidence because it’s done illegally.”

“Some countries have wiretapping legislation — others don’t. We need to have wiretapping legislation for all the countries of the region. This is an important tool in the arsenal in the fight against crime now,” Jagdeo said. Asked which countries engage in wiretapping in the region, Jagdeo would not go into specifics, simply asserting that the practice is done in the region.

“It happens and I know it happens…but of course it has to be done under controlled circumstances to respect people’s privacy but this is absolutely necessary,” he said.

The proposal echoes similar plans to allow evidence obtained via wiretapping to be allowed in courts in the United Kingdom.