TTPS apologises as 1,843 court cases dismissed

PRESIDENT of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association Inspector Gideon Dickson on Tuesday apologised to the country for the collapse of 793 serious cases. The cases were part of 1,843 dismissed last year because police complainants failed to attend court.

This information was laid in Parliament on October 5 in the Police Service Commission’s (PSC) annual report for the year. The 61-page report was laid a little over a month after Police Commissioner Gary Griffith held a media conference highlighting his high marks in an appraisal by the PSC.

According to the report, of the cases dismissed, 793 were for serious crimes.

This category includes gun possession, rape and other sexual assaults, attempted murder, kidnapping for ransom and murder. The report did not list what the cases were.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday Dickson said: “We want to apologise for our short comings…Judge us after this year.” Dickson said there have been internal changes to address the absenteeism by officers which will reduce the number of cases dismissed for a want of prosecution.

According to the police’s strategic plan, he said, there is a “concerted effort to clear matters.” Clearing matters he said meant ensuring that prosecutorial files are completed in court and not as a result of police non-compliance with departmental orders to attend court.

In a media release on Monday, the police service said the number of cases dismissed per quarter has reduced significantly.

For the first three quarters, 270 cases were dismissed compared to 1050 for the same period last year. “The TTPS is confident that there will be a vast improvement in 2020, based on the figures recorded in the first three quarters. Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, remains committed to decreasing complainant absenteeism.”

The release said Griffith oversaw the implementation of several initiatives including increasing staff allocated to prosecution; divisional commanders allowed to discipline errant complainants; and assistance for complainants when needed.

Dickson said there are prevailing factors that cause officers to miss court such as family and health emergencies.

He added that while officers are operating on 2013 salaries, they not only have to arrest criminals but also ensure that they go to court and at times it may be a bit much.

“We have a targeted percentage we aim to reach at the end of the year in respect to the number of cases dismissed. We have the same officers going to court having to go on patrols and when that happens there is an opportunity for people to commit crime.”

Dickson said there is “no opportunity to balance” adding that a case file management system is now in place to address the pitfalls of officers going to court and still patrolling system.

“We have to manage our limited resources better not just with the detection rate but with the prosecution.”

According to the report laid in the House, the last quarter of 2019 saw an exponential rise in dismissed cases with a 129 per cent increase. The first quarter had 384 matters dismissed followed by 320 in the second quarter.

At the end of September, there was a slight up tick in thrown out cases from 320 to 346 before it sky-rocketed to 793 cases dismissed by the end of December.

Cases dismissed for 2020

• 191 cases were dismissed during the period January to March, 2020 - 51% decrease from the previous year.

• Eight cases were dismissed during the period April to July, 2020 - 97.5% decrease from the previous year.

• 71 cases were dismissed during the period July to September, 2020 – 91% decrease from the previous year.