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Prime Minister Barrow explained that the first step is passing what's called enabling legislation - which is the constitutional change - followed by implementing legislation which will specify just how long citizens can be detained for. He made it clear that government will change the constitution but is open to an argument on how long and under what terms preventative detention will be permitted:..

PM Dean Barrow
"If we succeed in changing the constitution, what we are doing is to introduce into the constitution and enabling provision. In other words as things now stand you can't have a law that provides for the detention of citizens for longer than 48 hours without a charge being laid - without being taken before a court because the constitution prevents that from happening. If this change goes through that would no longer be the case. The constitution would permit the passage of a detailed bill that would then spell out what the implementing provisions of a preventative detention regime would be. Under the implementing legislation any detention order that would be possible that the police could secure from the authorities could not last longer than 21 days. If there is a need to extend that under the implementing law that law will provide for an application so to extend to be made to a judge of the Supreme Court. Let me point out Mr. Speaker that there are similar laws in the UK, in India and in other countries, now Mr. Speaker the preventative detention amendment is sure to attract a great deal of debate as it had done on the last occasion when we attempted it. I want to make clear that those that are engaging in the debate - I would want to suggest ought to try to be helpful - try to be constructive - ought to try to make suggestions to help the government and the society to deal with this problem that we are trying to attack. It's not useful as to do what some lawyers have tried to do - simple to get up and criticize and to hurl accusations and to make charges. There is a problem and only a fool would not accept that it is a huge problem that requires efforts of all of us. Nobody is going to stand on this side of the house and suggest that the draft we provide is going to be perfect. we are hoping that that draft will in fact be improve as a consequence of the debate, but what we want to signal is that once we have the numbers on this side we will past the constitutional amendment and so really I would ask those who don't particularly like it to reserve their thunder to reserve their fire for the actual detailed provisions of the implementing legislation so that they can help to ensure that those detail provisions are all that they should be go only as far as they need to go in terms of helping the government and the society to address the problem."

PM Dean Barrow
"The government must always be prepared to be flexible. That's the essence of democracy, but I am repeating to you that I am convince based on the little soundings we have done that admittedly are not scientific. I am convince that the opposition to these measures will come only from a small but vocal minority and from some I suppose particular organizations. I know the bar has already started but I think it would be principally a combination of the bar and the constitutional opposition. I've run these notions circle by the chamber of commerce with whom I have quarterly meetings. We had that meeting a week or so ago and they are certainly not opposition. So I am absolutely convince, it is my unshakable conviction, unsinkable conviction that the majority of citizens is behind these measures and I will not be deterred by however vocal the opposition is as long as I can be persuaded or as long as I remain persuaded that it will be a minority opposition."