Fairness, Accountability and Results, Professor Deosaran
The Chamber heartily congratulates Professor Ramesh Deosaran on his recent assumption of the chairmanship of the Police Service Commission (PSC). In our view, he is one of the few persons who has made our crime industry a study, analysed practical and productive recommendations for meeting the many challenges while he was head of the Ansa McAl Psychological Research Centre at the University of the West Indies and as an Independent Senator.
The Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2006 (the Act), sets out quite clearly, the duties of the PSC, which include monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of the discharge of the functions of the Commissioner of Police and his deputies and the preparation of annual performance appraisal reports on the latter. Professor Deosaran will be familiar with all the events and rationale which altered the role of the PSC, and replaced the former Police Service Act with the existing one, so that the Commissioner of Police could have the wherewithal to exercise the newly conferred power to manage the Service and to ensure that the human, financial and material resources available to it are used in an efficient manner.
Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs, when he addressed the Chamber earlier this year, stated categorically that the authorised strength of the Police Service was sufficient to do the job, notwithstanding rumblings from some of the organisations which represent his officers. A previous Police Commissioner, Trevor Paul, made a similar statement when appearing before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament enquiring into the operations of the PSC.
Consequently, Professor Deosaran and the other members of the PSC have the unenviable task of procuring accountability from Commissioner Gibbs and his team, explanations why serious crime has shown little or no decrease over their tenure. As far as the public and the Chamber are concerned, it is a straight question of value for money in the exercise by the PSC of its Constitutional powers of monitoring and appraising what Commissioner Gibbs and his deputies have or have not done over the last six months, given the crime statistics for that period. In fact, sections 123 (6) of the Act requires him to report to the PSC over the same period on the management of the Police Service and the PSC should have set the example in observance of the rule of law, by ensuring that Dr. Gibbs and his deputies account to it according to the Act, thus, making its job of appraisal more manageable.
In the Chamber’s opinion, Professor Ramesh Deosaran is singing from the same hymn book when he calls for “the hard data” and “evidence” in terms of the Police Commissioner’s report, presumably, pursuant to section 123 for the appraisal to be made by the PSC in compliance with the Act.
The Chamber certainly does not want to be misinterpreted as telling the PSC how to do its job, but we suggest that the following burning public interest issues be among those to be answered by Commissioner Gibbs and his deputies in the conduct of their appraisal and monitoring their efficiency and effectiveness:-
i. What is the status of the exercise of disciplinary control over police officers with specific reference to the timelines between the event giving rise to the complaint and its determination?
The Chamber and the public need to find out what, for example, has become of the investigations, final report and corrective measures taken as a result of finding narcotics in the ceiling of the St. Joseph Police Station since mid-2009, the latest gun licences for bribes claim by the Police Social and Welfare Association against First Division Officers, the deaths of 41 persons in police custody last year, as appears in the 2010 Country Report on Human Rights Practices by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour (“the 2010 Report”) and the investigations of 12 officers from the Chaguanas station who misused tasers by placing suspects in a barrel of water and shocking them? Also according to the Report, 35 officers were suspended on September 13, 2010 on corruption charges, some of whom also face allegations of close relationships with gang leaders. Is this simply another case of “continuing” investigations against a conclusion in the 2010 Report that public confidence in the Police Service was very low because of high crime and perceived corruption, a conclusion not restricted to 2010 exclusively!
ii. Why is it that victims of crime are told that there are no vehicles to respond, or that the response is dead slow or nonexistent, despite the fact of Commissioner Gibbs’ public statement about adequate human resources and the fact that Government has sold surplus vehicles from the Summit of the Americas and CHOGM to the tune of $5 million? Even when the officers do respond, it is often the result of goading by the same victims and their families to do their jobs, as exemplified by the slow response and shoddy investigations of officers of the Rio Claro and Mayaro police stations to which the abduction of Narie Sookraj was reported one day after his whereabouts became unknown in December 2010. It took some 5-6 days before initial investigations began and during which time relatives were shunted between the stations on the ground that neither was the station to which reports must be made. This is certainly not the first time that the Chamber has heard of such a ridiculous excuse being given to citizens reporting crime to a district station, and it continues to occur frequently with road traffic accidents as well, despite the Commissioner’s public clarification that any crime may be reported to the nearest police station!
On the positive side, some months ago, the Chamber witnessed lockdowns and road blocks in La Puerta and Morvant hotspots. We are not aware that the strategy has been sustained, so that there may be some small chance that these measures could have resulted in a decrease in crime, comparable to, say, the 44% decrease in homicides recently experienced in Jamaica.
The Chamber has also listened carefully to what Deputy Commissioner Ewatski said to Chamber members in February about the 21st Century Policing Initiative. We have read about the strategies, expectations and rationale for its inauguration in the Western Division. We believe it is still early days yet before fair comment may be publicly made on this new plan from the office of the Commissioner of Police. The Chamber wishes it well as the intentions are noble.
We say the same to Professor Deosaran and the PSC. His motto is FAIRNESS, ACCOUNTABILITY and RESULTS, intending to go very FAR. He stressed to the Guardian, “What I am trying to tell you is that the Commission means business.” And so does the Chamber.
