Director of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Gillian Lucky says the authority needs similar investigative powers and authority to those of the police to fully investigate complaints it receives.She said so during a community outreach meeting at the El Dorado Co-operative Building, El Dorado, on Tuesday evening.
She said when the Police Complaints Authority Act was passed by Parliament in 2006, establishing the body, the PCA was not given the necessary powers and authority to conduct investigations into alleged police misconduct and criminal acts.Lucky added: "In passing the legislation, what was missed out is that it gave a function to the PCA to investigate, but did not give the same rights, authority and powers that police officers have."
She said those powers included the ability to collect evidence and exhibits in investigations as well as interviewing witnesses and taking witness statements.Lucky said under the legislation the PCA was mandated to investigate instances of criminal offences committed by police officers, police corruption and serious misconduct by officers.She said the deficiency in the legislation might have been Parliamentary oversight.
Lucky on PCA's rolls
Lucky said in other jurisdictions, including Jamaica, bodies similar to the PCA were fully equipped to investigate complaints and were among the first responders to crime scenes related to police killings.She said because the PCA did not have these powers, it was sometimes limited to simply monitoring police investigations.
Lucky said since being appointed to the position in 2010, she had spoken to Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to explore the possibility of amending the legislation to afford PCA investigators the necessary authority and privileges to investigate complaints.While speaking to the modest crowd at the meeting, Lucky also dismissed claims that the PCA was a toothless dog.
She said despite some limitations with which the authority was faced, it had been able to investigate several complaints which have led to criminal prosecutions."There are some criminal matters before the courts right now in which the police had said there was nothing wrong and the PCA said no and conducted its own investigation," Lucky said.She said the PCA did not have employees who were police officers and repeatedly maintained that police officers should not investigate their colleagues.
Refering to the deaths of Haydee Paul and her daughters who were knocked down in Sea Lots on February 24, Lucky said the PCA was unable to investigate the accident but was in close contact with acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to monitor the investigation.The driver of the vehicle involved in the accident was an off duty police officer."What we are saying is that although we can't investigate, we are playing a functioning role in the investigation," Lucky said.