Government is taking another look at a proposed change to the Human Rights Act intended to expand the definition of harassment after an advocacy group said it would allow the police to harass people.The Centre for Justice has launched a petition drive seeking to have Government withdraw a provision to the amendment which expands the definition of harassment to include all unlawful grounds of discrimination.Community Development Minister Wayne Scott, who is sponsoring the bill, said the Attorney General is reviewing the matter and a determination would be made this week.The bill, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on May 17, prohibits harassment generally except in cases where it is shown that a “persistent course of conduct” is pursued for crime prevention or detection purposes, done in pursuit of a legal requirement or is shown to be reasonable.The Centre wants the exception clause (6C) (3) removed from the bill.“In our view, if it becomes law, this clause would allow the police to harass people with impunity,” stated a press release from the Centre.“Given that the legislation is apparently scheduled for debate in the House of Assembly soon, we urge Government to delete this clause from the Act’s amendment. We do not in any way want to hold up the passage of the Human Rights Act amendment, which has been so long awaited. But it would be a sad day for Bermuda if the amendment went forward as proposed — on the one hand granting rights to a group who should have been included decades ago, and on the other potentially taking away the rights of other groups.“We urge members of the community to write to their MPs and ask them to pass the Human Rights Act amendment — after removing subsection 3.”The release adds: “Whilst there will be a general prohibition against harassment under the Act, if the Amendment Act passes as is, the Act would in effect allow the police to harass people.“If you are harassed by the police, supposedly, for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or for example stopped and searched under section 315F of the Criminal Code Act, you could lose existing remedies available under the Human Rights Act.“Of course, you could challenge the constitutionality of section 315F or this section in the courts, but the average person simply does not have the resources and means to pursue his/her rights in the courts.“The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) provides comprehensive provisions on the powers of the police in relation to stopping and searching, powers of entry search and seizure, detention, questioning and treatment of people in detention whilst safeguarding the rights of suspects.“In our view this already gives the police sufficient powers. In our view, at first sight, the Human Rights Act amendment appears to be unconstitutional because it expressly permits discriminatory behaviour and profiling.“We have contacted the Minister of Community and Cultural Development and the Minister of Justice to ask them to reconsider their position in respect of subsection 3.”Mr Scott is hoping that Parliament will agree to amend the Human Rights Act to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, expand the prohibition of harassment beyond the workplace and enact several housekeeping measures.He told this newspaper yesterday that his party will decide this week whether the bill will be taken up on Friday.