Parliament to debate law to give PCA more teeth

NEW proposed legislation to give the Police Complaints Authority oversight over corrupt acts involving special reserve police officers comes up for debate on Friday.

The broadening of the PCA's powers is just one of the several changes to be approved by Parliament.

The PCA has in the past been responsible for independent investigations into serious allegations of misconduct against regular police, including extra-judicial killings.

On Friday from 1.30 pm, the House of Representatives will debate the Miscellaneous Provisions (Special Reserve Police-SRP, and Police Complaints Authority-PCA) Bill, 2020, which will widen the authority's ability to treat with similar instances of misconduct pertaining to special reserve and municipal police officers.

The bill advocates in clause three that the PCA should have the power to make recommendations to either the Commissioner of Police (CoP) or the Assistant Commissioner of Municipal Police, as the case may be, on the conclusion of an investigation into allegations of misconduct by a SRP officer.

The latter is also directed under the legislation to inform the PCA of situations where information or a complaint has been received in relation to alleged criminal offences, corruption or misconduct by SRPs or municipal police officers.

Debate on the bill, which was first laid in the House on December 4, 2020, comes at a time when PCA investigations into alleged police misconduct have been brought into sharper focus.

In an interview last month on WESN television, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said most people did not know this bill was before the Parliament and it was not put there as a response to any particular event.

In a statement on February 9, the authority said it started investigations into the deaths of Andrew "Solo" Morris and Joel Balcon, on February 1 and 8, respectively. Both men died from multiple trauma injuries and their relatives claim they were beaten by police. Police, however, said the suspects were injured when they tried to escape arrest.

The PCA said both men were in custody for questioning on the kidnapping of Andrea Bharatt on January 29 and her subsequent murder.

The authority said it was also investigating the circumstances leading to the arrest of Drugs Sou Sou founder Kerron Clarke in La Horquetta on February 6 and reports of alleged failure by police to prosecute, tender evidence and attend court hearings.

In a statement on its Facebook page on January 8, the PCA said out of 429 investigations last year, nine were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), 47 were referred to the CoP, eight were referred to the CoP and the DPP and 365 were closed with no further action.

In a January 4 statement to mark the authority's 10th anniversary, director David West and deputy director Michelle Solomon-Baksh said the PCA looked forward with optimism towards its next decade. They said the PCA hoped to be strengthened by amendments to its governing legislation.

"PCA investigators will benefit from broader evidence-gathering capabilities and will also be included as interested parties in coroners' inquests."