The Police Force is becoming more co-operative with the Police Com-plaints Authority (PCA) but its chairman, retired Chancellor of the Judi-ciary, Cecil Kennard is still unhappy with the time it takes for the force to respond to his requests for information.
Of the 225 complaints submitted to him there are 81 cases, which he is still waiting for the police to respond to, despite reminders.
But Justice Kennard describes as sensible the recommendation of the interim report of the Disciplined Forces Commission that there is no need for an amendment to the Police Com-plaints Authority Act.
At the same time he highlights Section 6 of the act which states: "The Minister shall provide the Authority with a Secretary and such other officers and employees as are required for the proper performance of his functions."
In an exclusive interview with Current Affairs Justice Kennard said that under the Act the minister could provide him with one or two officers who are not associated with the police to undertake the supervision of the investigations the Authority is charged with undertaking. He said these officers would act as watchdogs over the police ranks carrying out the investigation. At present the PCA relies on the Office of Professional Responsibility for the support required to discharge its functions.
Justice Kennard said because he is unhappy with the time the police were taking to submit reports he has had to write to the Commissioner of Police reminding him of the obligations of the police under Section 12 of the Police Complaints Authority Act. Kennard said that he copied the letter to the commanders of the various police divisions. He added that the provision of Section 12 was the main topic of discussion at a recent meeting he had with the police officers.
Section 12 of the Act provides for the PCA to supervise the investigation of a complaint that a member of the force has unlawfully caused the death of any person or has committed an offence referred to in various sections of the legislation.
Section 13 of the Act also obligates a member of the force to forthwith inform the PCA of any complaint received, giving the particulars of the member of the force against whom a complaint had been made or received.
Section 14 specifically authorises the PCA to supervise the investigation of every complaint referred to in section 12.
Justice Kennard pointed out that the police have to provide the PCA with relevant statements about a complaint so that it could make a determination whether or not the investigation of the complaint was properly conducted.
He said the PCA could take the initiative where a person has been killed as it had done in the case of Michael Clarke whom the police killed when he attempted to escape from their custody. He said the police have not provided the statements requested and that he had reminded the Commissioner of the force's obligation.
Last year the Authority received 225 serious complaints as well as a similar number of minor complaints which he was able to resolve by phone calls to the Commissioner of Police or to the commanders of the relevant police divisions.
Justice Kennard said the PCA recommended criminal prosecution in the proven complaints of unlawful killing and causing serious injury and in the other cases that were proven, he recommended action to be taken under the police Disciplinary Act where the penalties range from a warning to dismissal.
Justice Kennard said that it normally takes about six to eight weeks for the police to respond but that in cases where the officers are stationed in the hinterland it would take a little longer. However, he said that there are a small number of reports from 2002 which are outstanding for at least six months.
Justice Kennard noted that when the police do not submit their reports in a reasonable time it puts the PCA in an embarrassing position as it would be unable to report any progress to the complainant and creates the impression of inactivity. But he explained that whenever he sends reminders to the police he always copies the letters to the complainants so as to keep them abreast of what is taking place.
There were 90 more complaints last year than in 2002 and the PCA chairman attributed the increase in part to the increased awareness of the existence of the PCA resulting from the distribution of an information leaflet through the regional administrative offices, the Guyana Bar Asso-ciation and the Berbice Bar Association offices and outreach visits to Anna Regina, Bartica, Leguan, Charity, Cor-riverton and New Amsterdam. At the outreach meetings, Justice Kennard said he had spoken to the public about the Authority's role and function and members of the public took the opportunity to lodge complaints with him.
He said that he had made a number of appearances on television programmes such as One-on-One, Plain Talk and on televisions channels at Charity, Bartica, Corriverton and New Amsterdam
Discussing the types of complaints received, Justice Kennard said the majority alleged neglect of duty and the use of unnecessary force, as well as behaviour which discredited the force.
He explained that among the complaints described as neglect of duty are a failure to take statements from persons during an investigation; failure of a member of the force to perform his/her duty; negligence resulting in the escape of a prisoner; failure to report where an offender may be found; failure to attend to a reasonable request from a member of the public; failure to report a matter which has been duly brought to the officer's attention; incivility to a member of the public; and inaction on a report made to the officer.
Justice Kennard told Current Affairs that because of the increased activity, the present accommodations of the Authority are inadequate and more room is required to allow the investigating officers when appointed to be able to interview persons who approach the authority in an environment of privacy.
The PCA shares the ground floor with the Guyana Bar Association and the building on Brickdam houses the Office of the Ombudsman, the Public Service Appellate Tribunal and the Land Court.