CRIMINOLOGIST Akinee Harry said the concerns raised by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) over the repeated use of states of emergency (SoEs) in the Caribbean highlighted the need to balance public safety with the protection of constitutional rights.

Speaking with the Express on Saturday, Harry said democratic states had a responsibility to protect citizens from violent crime while also safeguarding the rights guaranteed under their constitutions.

'The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights raises an important principle,' Harry said. 'Every democratic state has both a duty to protect its citizens from violent crime and an equally important duty to safeguard constitutional rights. These responsibilities should not be viewed as competing objectives.'