Police Complaints Authority director: Body-cams can help public trust police

POLICE Complaints Authority (PCA) director David West has reiterated the importance of body-worn cameras as a vital tool which the police can use to regain the public's trust.

He made this comment during a PCA outreach meeting at the San Fernando City Hall auditorium on September 26.

West told the audience that the police are expected to receive an additional 3,000 camera between now and next March. He said the police have 200 cameras in use at present.

West was confident police officers would understand the importance of wearing these cameras in the course of their duties.

Referring to police-involved shootings and other offences which the PCA investigates, West said footage from these cameras can provide critical evidence as to who is telling the truth in these matters. "That recording can't be tampered with."

West said under the police service regulations, officers who tamper with recordings on body-worn cameras can be sanctioned.

In a statement issued on May 3, the PCA said these cameras can help investigators manage their investigations more effectively.

"Body-worn camera footage can help the investigators understand and reconstruct what happened without having to rely solely on interviews.

"It can be used as evidence. This is probably one of the biggest benefits of body cameras for law enforcement – the ability to use the footage later on in a court of law, if necessary."

Responding to a question in the House of Representatives on May 24, the prime minister said more body cameras will be bought for use by frontline police officers to give investigators an accurate understanding of police-involved confrontations. Dr Rowley said as far as he was aware, 1,100 body cameras had been bought and were being used by frontline police.

He added that another batch of cameras was expected to be bought.

"If more is required, more resources will be made available, because the objective is to have as many situations where police are involved be recorded in such a way that it can be utilised in confirming how the confrontation or lack thereof took place involving the police and citizens.

"It is a matter that is under way."

West said, "We need to get the evidence. The evidence is very important." He added the PCA cannot investigate matters based on hearsay.

West also said an amendment to the PCA Act in 2020, allows the authority to seek updates from either the Commissioner of Police (CoP) or the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on matters referred to them, after a period of three months. The CoP, he continued, handles matters pertaining to disciplinary offences by police officers.

West said the DPP deals with criminal offences committed by police officers.

On the issue of resources to the PCA, West said the authority received an allocation of $80 million in the 2023/2024 budget and it found ways to make that allocation work. He did not believe the PCA is starved for resources.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert will present the 2024/2025 budget in the House of Representatives on September 30.

During the interaction, members of the audience claimed many police officers are offensive in their responses to concerns by the public. One man claimed to have been abducted by police officers several years ago and no police commissioner addressed his concerns.

The man also claimed the officers involved in that alleged incident had retired.

West told him that the PCA could only investigate claims made against current members of the police service.

Other people wondered if there was a mentality issue in the police service which caused officers to act in a particular way and if this was linked to leadership in the service.