Police oversight reform ‘on horizon’ as public frustration mounts

Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw has called for urgent reforms to police oversight, as citizens increasingly turn to social media to voice complaints about officer conduct, bypassing the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) due to perceived inefficiencies.

Speaking in the House of Assembly on Tuesday during the second day of the Estimates debate, Bradshaw pointed out that while Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce reported on Monday a significant decline in public complaints about police conduct, some citizens have chosen to bypass the formal complaint process.

“I think we have to deal with this issue frontally of ensuring that the image of the police is also preserved as it relates to combating and fighting crime,” she said. “In my constituency there have been several scenarios where persons have complained openly, they have avoided going to the Police Complaints Authority, and instead they have resorted to taking it to social media to complain for certain acts that they believe have been carried out by the officers.

“Therefore I am not sure that the fact that you are not getting the level of complaints coming in, is indicative of the police having found the solution to the challenges that the people are encountering with the officers.”

She added: “The view obviously out there is that the police are investigating themselves; that the information is not on the reports; going up to the relevant authorities in a timely manner; that their cases are not being disposed of quickly, and therefore that creates a level of frustration in the public towards police officers.”

In response, Attorney General Dale Marshall acknowledged the concerns and revealed that he recently met with the PCA to outline possible solutions to help strengthen their oversight powers.

“I met with the entire Police Complaints Authority in the month of September, and I asked them to say to me candidly two things. One “are you satisfied with how you are working now” and two “do you want me to amend the legislation to give you more teeth”. Here is the challenge, the Police Complaints Authority has the power to investigate complaints, but it has no power to sanction. It has the power to recommend certain things to the commissioner of police, but the commissioner of police is not duty bound to follow the recommendation of the Police Complaints Authority.

“We had a robust discussion, and I believe that there is a sense coming out of that meeting with them that they do want to be able to exercise a greater level of supervision,” he explained.

As part of proposed reforms according to Marshall, the PCA has suggested that when cases are referred to the commissioner, he should be required to respond within a specific timeframe. If the authority remains dissatisfied, it should have the power to escalate matters directly to the Protective Services Commission.

Marshall also said that he had encouraged the PCA to bring in additional support by hiring retired police officers and Barbados Defence Force personnel to strengthen its investigative capacity. 

(SB)