New measures aimed at curbing gang violence and punishing people who threaten court officials have been approved by senators.

Kim Wilkerson, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, said the Justice and Community Safety Reform Act 2026 would offer anonymity to witnesses, criminalise breaches of bail and target those who seek to pressure court officials.

Ms Wilkerson said: “The single purpose of this Bill is convictions secured lawfully, fairly and effectively.

“It is convictions that take shooters off our streets, that break the cycle of retaliation and that bring closure to grieving families who have waited far too long for answers.”

She explained that the legislation amends the Evidence Act to allow the courts to issue investigation anonymity orders, which protect the identities of witnesses assisting police during an investigation.

Ms Wilkerson said: “In plain terms, a person who wants to do the right thing can speak to the police without the whole island knowing they have done so.”

The Bill also allows the Supreme Court to issue witness anonymity orders, which are intended to protect the identity of witnesses during trial if the court is satisfied that it is necessary, in the interest of justice and consistent with the defendant receiving a fair trial.

She said the orders are available only in cases involving serious arrestable offences.

The legislation also creates new offences of assaulting or intimidating judicial officers, prosecutors, legislators or jurors, whether they are on or off duty.

Ms Wilkerson said: “When those who uphold the rule of law can be menaced with impunity, it is the administration of justice itself that is attacked.”

The Bill also makes the wilful or unlawful breach of bail conditions a criminal offence, stating that such breaches have undermined public confidence and left witnesses exposed.

Ms Wilkerson added: “This Bill declares, in terms no one can mistake, what Bermuda will no longer tolerate. Witnesses silenced by fear, those who serve justice threatened for doing so, and bail treated as a suggestion rather than an obligation.”

She noted some of the names of those who have lost their lives to gang-related shootings, stating that their families had pleaded for action.

Ms Wilkerson said the Bill was not perfect, and the Opposition had asked if a measure could be added to specify that witness anonymity orders were only intended for gang cases.

She said that she will endeavour to put forward an amendment when the House resumes in September, but there was a need to deliver something that could work now.

Victoria Cunningham, the OBA senator, said gang violence has already cost the island too much and expressed her full support for the objectives of the legislation.

She said she was glad to see the new protections for judicial officers and supported the criminalisation of bail breaches, adding: “A bail condition that carries no consequence for its breach is not really a condition at all.”

Ms Cunningham said witness anonymity was a beneficial tool for investigations, but argued that witness anonymity for trials needed to be limited to gang cases.

She noted that in Britain, such anonymity is overwhelmingly only used in terrorism and serious organised-crime cases.

Ms Cunningham said: “The right to know one’s accuser is not a technicality and it’s one of the oldest protections in our law.

Tawana Tannock, the independent senator and former prosecutor, said she wholeheartedly supported the Bill and was fine with its scope.

She said: “I first-hand had a witness on the stand who refused to even give his name due to fear of reprisal.”

While the One Bermuda Alliance senators voted against allowing the Bill to move on to its third reading, the measure was allowed by a vote of seven to three, with independent senators voting alongside government senators.

However, the OBA did not oppose the passage of the Bill on the basis that amendments would be tabled when the House returns in September.