Concerns mount over collapsed cop cases — PCA steps in

WITH concerns rising over the collapse of two separate criminal cases earlier this week which led to 12 policemen walking free, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA)  is probing the circumstances leading to police failing to follow repeated instructions from the courts to prosecute these two matters.

The authority, led by David West, issued a press release on November 21 announcing it was stepping in to investigate the collapse of the case, on November 18, involving seven police officers accused of extortion. Master of the High Court Sarah de Silva dismissed this case after police failed to comply with court instructions to prosecute the matter on time.

The seven were also accused of corruptly appropriating money – over $100,000 – which were seized as evidence at several businessplaces in Sangre Grande.

The authority is also investigating the collapse, on November 20, of a case in which five police officers were charged with soliciting and receiving a bribe of $30,000 from an Arouca couple to forego the laying of charges after the execution of a search warrant at the couple's home led to drugs and camouflage uniforms allegedly being found.

De Silva also discharged this case, after noting that police prosecutors were given additional time to prepare their case against the five, but in the end, failed to bring forward any witnesses so the trial could start.

The PCA, in its press release, noted there were no prosecution witnesses and no evidence produced by the police to the court in the matter of the five officers accused of demanding and getting a bribe.

The release added, “The Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) had conduct of these high profile and serious criminal matters.”

The PCA also suggested successive police commissioners had ignored its advice on how to deal with the failures of police prosecutors.

“This follows several referrals for discipline and repeated pieces of advice by the PCA to the Commissioner of Police over the past 13 years. These investigations refer to matters where police complainants failed to attend court, failed to comply with the court’s directives and failed to comply with their own standing orders,” the release said.

The PCA said it has submitted information on the two collapsed cases to its investigative and legal units for immediate action.

Newsday tried to reach both Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher and Deputy Commissioner Suzette Martin on Thursday for a response to the PCA's release, but neither answered their phones nor responded to WhatsApp messages.
Martin is a former head of the TTPS' Professional Standards Bureau (PSB), which investigates all allegations made against police and is also empowered to bring criminal charges.

A MATTER FOR THE DPP

Head of the Criminal Bar Association Israel Khan, SC, said these two collapsed cases were not dead and the 12 officers can be hauled back before the courts again to answer the charges.

“This was not a dismissal (based) on the merits of the case. So it appears the Director of Public Prosecutions can instruct the police to refile those cases,” Khan said when contacted for comment on Thursday.

He said moving forward, the cases should be dealt with by the Office of the DPP rather than a police prosecutor. Further, he strongly suggested police prosecutors should never be involved in cases where police officers are the defendants.

“For serious criminal offences, there ought not to be a police prosecutor. So something is amiss here. Police cannot prosecute police. It must be the DPP’s representative who should do the prosecuting. That's the first thing that went wrong.”

Khan said the chain of events which led to the collapse of the two cases had led to questions that only the TTPS and DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, can answer.

“If the police are investigating police for serious offences, they will consult the DPP who will advise them, based on the evidence presented, if to charge or not.

"Then if they charge, the second thing they will do is immediately send the file to the DPP, so that a DPP-appointed lawyer would be assigned to the matter. It appears the file was not with the DPP, or if it was, the DPP didn't send a lawyer.”
Khan said this needed to be clarified.

“If the DPP did not assign a prosecutor, or the police prosecutor was standing in for the DPP because there was no DPP representative, we have to find out why. The DPP has to give an explanation to the country as to why there was not a DPP-appointed lawyer.

“If this was not the case, then the DPP must find out from the police commissioner why they didn't send the file to him. He is supposed to prosecute this matter.”

'I DEALT WITH THIS AS CoP'

Former police commissioner Gary Griffith, in a media statement on Thursday, said the two cases collapsed because systems of accountability which he implemented had been dismantled.

He said during his time as CoP, he established a strong civilian staff of attorneys in the TTPS' legal department. Griffith said this structure ensured “the guards would guard the guards,” as it was private attorneys who held police officers accountable.

“This team ensured that disciplinary actions were swift and stringent when officers failed to attend court, reducing absenteeism in every single division...and maintaining the integrity of prosecutions.”

Griffith said he also ensured each case had a back-up officer assigned to it. The dismantling of these measures, he claimed, was what led to a scenario where cases are collapsing in the courts.

“Amongst other things, the legal department was returned to a structure solely dependent on police officers.
"Without civilian oversight, the culture of accountability eroded, leading to the current state where officers feel emboldened to act without consequence.
"This lack of discipline directly contributes to the collapse of cases, the low public trust and confidence and the rise in crime.”

LITTLE PCA CAN DO

The UNC's shadow national security minister and Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal said on Thursday that apart from the PCA’s press release, there was little it can do to force the police into action.

“The PCA cannot force the police or the commissioner to do anything. They can undertake an investigation and make recommendations as to disciplinary charges and misconduct, but they cannot compel action.

“While Section 21 of the PCA act gives them very wide powers, this is only for their investigations. All recommendations on disciplinary action or laying of criminal charges are subject to action by the police commissioner. The PCA cannot compel police to take any action. They are a recommender.”

Moonilal said the larger issue is the vast erosion of the public's trust in the TTPS.

“Assuming (the PCA) investigates, what now could be the role of the police prosecution and others in this sordid affair? The PCA will have to recommend to the police to take action against the police."
He said this loss of trust can also affect public confidence in the judiciary.

“Even if the DPP assigns lawyers outside of the police to prosecute, they still depend on the police for statements, evidence, exhibits and so on.
"So the crisis we face is there has been a breakdown of trust in the police to investigate and prosecute the police.

“That is a matter that requires serious consideration and may require fundamental policy and legal interventions.”

Khan said, “The police service is totally disorganised.

“They're not under proper management. There should be a CoP or ACP in charge of administration, especially court matters.”

He said Harewood-Christopher appeared overwhelmed.

“You need an innovative, industrious and very hard-working commissioner to reorganise the police service in order to avoid things like this. They're not taking the advice of the Police Complaint Authority, because they're just overwhelmed and not organised properly. They are operating like if it’s the 1960s.”