Robinson Perinchief outlines ministerial priorities
Island-wide speed cameras, cannabis reform and treatment of adolescent substance use have been prioritised by the new Minister of National Security for “initial implementation” by the end of this year.
Ryan Robinson Perinchief, who succeeded Michael Weeks this month, highlighted the goals in the Senate yesterday.
He said that the initial execution of automated traffic enforcement, through speed cameras, should be implemented with other efforts to curb dangerous driving by the last quarter of 2026.
Mr Robinson Perinchief acknowledged that the cameras, which feature licence-plate recognition technology, “are not, by themselves, a cure for dangerous driving” and must support “wider objectives of changing driving behaviour, improving road safety and reducing serious injuries and loss of life”.
He added: “The ministry will therefore work with the ministry responsible for transport, the Bermuda Police Service, the Transport Control Department, the courts and other agencies to integrate the programme into Bermuda’s wider road safety arrangements.
“It must also be supported by appropriate legislation, reliable evidence-management processes, safeguards for privacy and data, and clear arrangements for processing tickets or summonses.”
Mr Weeks said in May that the speed camera system would be “up and running” by September and Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, said legislation that would authorise the cameras to be used as “a legitimate speed-detection device” could also be ready by that time.
However, when questioned by independent senator Tawana Tannock yesterday, Mr Robinson Perinchief said the speed cameras have not yet been installed.
He explained: “We are at the testing phase and are looking to run a test or pilot of the programme later this year, so we are in the implementation phase.”
The minister added that these cameras could be installed at 28 proposed locations, but that may change “based on operational needs”.
He told senators that 234 operational CCTV cameras provide 458 views at 148 locations across the island.
Turning to cannabis reform, he told senators: “Government's commitment is to review and update cannabis-related guidance, regulations and oversight, to strike a balance between the limitations of the UK framework and safe, responsible adult use.
“The public should be aware that the current commitment does not match public discourse, which may mean that expectations are misaligned.”
Proposed reform on the drug is nothing new for the minister or the Progressive Labour Party — the Bermuda Cannabis Licensing Bill 2022, which offered a framework for growing and selling the substance on the island, passed in the House of Assembly but was blocked by Britain. Mr Robinson Perinchief’s dissertation at Durham University explored how the war on cannabis was linked to racial prejudice and discrimination.
The minister explained that frameworks for hemp and “hemp-derived” products and medical cannabis are expected to be implemented by the fourth quarter of this year, but that guidelines for a “broader, regulated regime for adult use” will take longer.
He said: “[Cannabis reform] requires bringing in various perspectives and co-ordination across our community, touching on national security, health, medicines regulation, customs and law enforcement, so that whatever we ultimately land on has lasting support.”
In an op-ed in today’s edition of The Royal Gazette, Kim Nicole Caisey, the executive director of the Bermuda Cannabis Association, applauded national security minister Ryan Robinson Perinchief for prioritising cannabis reform and his Durham University dissertation on the topic.
However, she also noted that Michael Weeks, who was earlier the national security minister, also promised cannabis reform, but those commitments “failed to materialise”.
Ms Caisey added: “Bermuda does not need another minister asserting cannabis reform as a priority in a press conference only for another political cycle to end.
“The last minister had the title and mandate yet delivered neither the legislation nor reckoned with enforcement disparities his own government had already documented years earlier through its Drug Reform Committee.”
She called for previous cannabis-related convictions to be expunged and a model that “focuses on diversion from prison for nonviolent offences, patient-centric safeguards and equity-focused participation in a future legal cannabis economy”.
Ms Caisey said: “Bermudians who were imprisoned and/or fined should not have to watch a new licensed industry formed by those who perpetrated prohibition in the first place.”
David Rogers, an opposition senator, asked whether medical cannabis reforms could lead to an increase in prescriptions for the drug, or the overall substance, on the island.
The minister responded: “We are still in the research phase, so it would be premature to offer any guesstimate.”
He also discussed a proposed treatment programme centred on the “clinical, developmental and social needs” of those aged 14 to 19.
Mr Robinson Perinchief said: “It will also connect with the Government’s wider prevention and early-intervention work, recognising that substance misuse can overlap with family instability, disengagement from education, exposure to violence and offending behaviour.”
The minister added: “Beyond these immediate priorities, violence reduction and community safety will be my principal ministry-wide policy priority over the coming months.
He said that refining the National Violence Reduction Strategy requires “sustained collaboration with the police, schools, community organisations, families and individuals with lived experience”.
Mr Robinson Perinchief also discussed plans to develop a National Risk Register to identify hazards and threats facing Bermuda, as well as progressing the national Cybersecurity Unit.
He concluded: “Beyond any individual project, my central responsibility as minister is clear: to ensure that the ministry remains focused on protecting the public and that its work produces tangible results for the people of Bermuda.”
• To view Ryan Robinson Perinchief’s statement in full, seeRelated Media
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