COP: Police need holistic reform

LEADER of the Congress of the People (COP) Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan is asking Police Commissioner Gary Griffith to say whether his decision to do a major overhaul of the Organised Crime Intelligence Unit (OCIU) was a result of incompetence, failure of intelligence-gathering and analysis, unfair targeting and abuse of process, or a combination of all three.

In a media statement issued over the weekend, Seepersad-Bachan said if this was the case, then it is of grave concern how many citizens were or continue to be victims of what could be deemed negligence and who did not have the means and resources to engage high-cost attorneys in their defence. She said Griffith should address this issue with a view to determining how many citizens were affected.

The commissioner decided to overhaul the police intelligence unit in the aftermath of their searching Jamaican dancehall star Buju Banton’s hotel room a day before his I Am Legend concert.

She said to institute intelligence-led policing effectively and efficiently, officers must be re-skilled and retooled and systems and processes re-engineered to embrace technology-enabled solutions and emerging global best practices.

This, she said, requires a comprehensive and holistic reform plan which must take priority to achieve the public’s trust and confidence in a police service that is transparent, fair, independent and free of political bias.

She said with respect to the possibility of a rift between Jamaica and TT, the mitigation of this risk required the prompt action on the part of the Ministers of National Security, Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry.

On police relations with the media, Seepersad-Bachan said a “blackout” threatened by Griffith is not an option, as the police service is a state agency funded annually by billions of dollars out of the public purse and therefore must always be accountable to taxpayers.

“Instead of being at war with each other, it is important for institutions to engender collaborative relationships in our country’s interest. Over the last couple of months, both the Police Commissioner and the media have facilitated a better appreciation of the workings of the police service.”

However, she added, the police must always be mindful of the “risks of overexposure in the form of pre-trial publicity and the possible compromise of sensitive investigations.”

The media, on the other hand, “must be allowed at all times to publicly report constructive criticism, the impetus for continuous improvement towards the greater good.”