Hinds examines police’s role in criminal justice system

Former Deputy Commissioner of Police and author Bertie Hinds will soon be publishing his second book entitled The Police and Criminal Justice: Some Contemporary Perspectives.

Hinds, who holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours in History and Law as well as a Masters in Criminology, previously published the seminal Policing a Dynamic Barbados in 2020 which examined all areas of the policing dynamic. His latest offering is about the police’s role in the criminal justice system with some contemporary perspectives.

He said the book was penned out of an obligation to support the long-term goal of the police and policing in Barbados’ changing society and the wider Caribbean.

Hinds explained that the long-term goal was to equitably contribute to the effective management and control of crime.

“The Police is the lead institution in the criminal justice process. Their contribution to the long-term goal of the criminal justice system, can only be effectively realised if the police fully recognise that all criminal justice institutions, and the criminal justice process are inextricably linked: interconnected, interwoven, interrelated and interdependent.

The police, the courts, the penal institution and the juvenile justice facility, are all designed to work in unison for the common good of justice and the rule of law,” he noted.

Hinds added: “My work in the Police for over forty years, had not been complete when I demitted office on early retirement as Deputy Commissioner.

“Writing this handbook, should be seen in the context of my continuing contribution to policing and to criminal justice.

“My association with the Regional Security System as its former Deputy Executive Director and the Canadian-funded Impact Justice Programme as a lecturer, is complementary to my primary reason for penning this work.

It fits neatly into the policing dynamics of OECS member states.

“There are four primary objectives of this work: (1) As a source of reference for the police hierarchy when developing policy and practice in managing serious crime; (2), to be a personal document for the wider police membership, so as to be in step with contemporary police policies and strategies;

(3), to be a citizens’ right-to-know informational and educational document, as to how the police ought to be functioning in criminal justice matters; and (4), to be a source of reference for all criminal justice agencies and criminal justice practitioners.”

Hinds, who had a distinguished career as a crime fighter, divisional manager and force administrator, said the scope of the book was augmented by a suggested necessary police organisational consciousness that embraced the geopolitical concerns and tensions relating to serious-crime management and security control.

He explained that these concerns continue to impact on police work in Barbados and the wider region.

“This work, therefore, is timely, in that much warranted and unwarranted criticism and debate on critical areas of the police function are current.

“More pointedly, it is the management of serious criminal matters from the time reported, through the investigative process and presentation of the cases before the courts that are of major concern.

“The genesis of the criticism and general public concern is located in the perennial escalation of serious crime. This concomitantly engenders fear and increases the risk of criminal victimisation in our society.

“This is the nub of geopolitical attention and concern,” he explained.

The Coleridge & Parry alumnus said it was apparent that too many in the police force were unaware of their role, and their organisation’s role in the criminal justice process.

He suggested that this state of affairs was a compromising factor in the Police Services’ ability and capacity to be an efficient and a more effective criminal justice institution.

“The narrative is set out in four (4) parts.
Part 1 deals with: Who are the police, what are their policing objectives, and the structure, and organisation of this entity.
Part 2 discusses the criminal justice system and the criminal justice process; and establishes the role the police has to play. It also examines some current criminal investigative practices, and the need for greater efficiencies to be realised therefrom.
Part 3 discusses some contemporary approaches to crime management and control. The focus in this part is sustained intervention for serious-crime prevention. Ethical and professional conduct informs the discourse about good investigative practices.
Part 4 discusses the role of leadership and management, including oversight, and their criticality to the overall success of the sustained intervention for serious-crime prevention,”
Hinds said. (WG)