PCA’s loud silence

THE POLICE Complaints Authority (PCA) likes to speak out.

It regularly convenes town halls, appears before parliamentary committees, publishes annual reports, and frequently lobbies for more power.

Just this week, the PCA’s director David West participated in a human rights seminar and yet again spoke to the need for laws to allow his agency to have a better shot at prosecuting police misconduct.

But when it comes to the most important investigation under its remit, the PCA this week shed light on something else: its own silence.

On Thursday, the body announced it had forwarded recommendations in relation to June’s police-involved killings in Morvant. It did not state their contents.

The three Morvant killings were already matters of national concern. But conflicting narratives from police and residents – as well as video footage that appeared to contradict the official account – precipitated an unprecedented wave of unrest in our capital. In the melee, a fourth civilian was killed.

So serious was the matter, national security officials spoke of a plot to destabilise the country. The Prime Minister intervened, calling for justice as he warned against revenge.

In June, the PCA took it upon itself to tell everyone it had started a probe. Two months later, the authority said its investigation was likely to end in two weeks and the country would be apprised of its findings.

Three months later, the PCA this week offered no explanation for the delay. It declined to hold a media conference.

That the PCA has suddenly lost its voice might have something to do with its views on the sensitivity of the matters before it. In June, it signalled it would heed “due process” and would not express any view before any determination by a court.

However, the content of its recommendations could hardly be construed as prejudicial in a situation in which it is plain for all to see that the police have a case to answer.

And as the PCA itself said on Thursday, “our investigations and recommendations should provide assurance to both the public and the police that deaths…following police conduct would be properly handled.”

But such “assurance” is unlikely if authorities are prone to hide behind the fig-leaf of pretrial publicity in a situation where a trial, if one is to occur, is years away. Worse yet when this excuse comes from a body meant to shine a light on police misconduct.

The same public with which Mr West has been tirelessly engaging is now left to speculate whether the PCA’s bad blood with Police Commissioner Gary Griffith is a factor. Mr Griffith was vocal in September about his displeasure over the way the PCA dealt with its recommendations relating to a senior officer.

Has the independent PCA bowed to this pressure?