CoP targets rogue cops
By Nalinee Seelal Friday, October 1 2010 A NEW entity known as the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) will be set up within the Police Service to deal with complaints against police officers by members of the public. Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs said yesterday. Commissioner Gibbs said discussions on the new unit have already started and he is hoping to have it in place as soon as possible. The unit will comprise hand-picked persons from all divisions of the Police Service and is modelled after the Professional Standards Unit of the Winnipeg Police Precinct in Canada, where Gibbs served as a senior police officer. This unit will also be responsible for managing complaints made against police officers including complaints about employee conduct, service policies or service delivery. The unit will also provide training to ensure police understand accountability and the responsibility they have to the citizens of this country. It is the view of Gibbs that the confidence of the public in the integrity of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service must be maintained by the knowledge that the PSU will conduct full investigations of allegations in a fair, impartial and thorough manner. The Commissioner added that when the unit is set up, every complaint will be examined thoroughly to determine whether further investigation is warranted and if an investigation reveals an officer breached any rules of conduct, a disciplinary process will follow. The major penalty is expected to be dismissal. According to Gibbs, he is yet to decide whether the Police Complaints Division which is a unit within the Police Service will be phased out or restructured. The unit is an internal arm of the service to deal specifically with disciplinary matters against police officers. “There are still a lot of details to be worked out,” Gibbs said when asked about his plans to deal with rogue officers. “When it comes to officers who are not doing the right thing, it is something I will certainly not condone. I believe the integrity and character of officers must be impeccable. When it comes to officers engaging in inappropriate behaviour or anything illegal those activities will be looked at and there will be consequences to those type of actions,” Gibbs said. He assured members of the public that any complaint levelled against police officers will not be swept under the carpet but will be thoroughly probed. Asked by Newsday about his anti-crime initiatives Gibbs said that he is currently holding discussions with all stakeholders before putting in place measures to combat any type of illegal activity. President of the Police Social and Welfare Association Sgt Anand Ramesar, responding on the planned PSU, said he knew nothing about this unit. “The Commissioner needs to inform himself about the Complaints Authority Act which has all those provisions and mandatory powers which they can exercise action on officers against whom allegations have been made. So this new unit is really a re-invention of the wheel,” Ramesar said. “And as far as I am concerned the infrastructure is already in place and the association has always been calling for the appointment of a board to head the complaints authority and the implementation and the mechanism and institution identified in the complaints authority legislation as a means to dealing with police officers who fail in their duties.” http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,128397.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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