Few cops jailed for shootings
November 18, 2005
ONLY four convictions have resulted from the more than 2,100 shooting cases referred to the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) since its inception in July 1999, according to Minister of National Security Dr Peter Phillips.
However, the security minister said the BSI has been carrying out its mandate as required.
He was responding on Tuesday to questions which had been tabled in the House of Representatives by Opposition Spokesman on National Security Derrick Smith.
But Smith, commenting on the responses yesterday, said that he was not as comfortable as the minister with the answers.
Smith told the Observer that the figure of only four convictions from 2,109 cases in six years would be a matter of concern, especially among a public which has been sceptical of the ability of the force to investigate itself objectively.
"Unlike the minister, I am not satisfied with the results," Smith said. "One cannot be satisfied with a process that moves so slowly. It creates suspicion because justice delayed is considered justice denied."
He suggested that the process may require increased staffing at the BSI, as well as additional personnel at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), to ensure a much faster rate of disposal of the cases.
According to the answers provided by Phillips to Smith's questions, the BSI was established on July 1, 1999 to investigate all cases of shooting by the police.
Its investigators are required to respond to, and initiate investigation within 48 hours of any instance of the discharge of a firearm by a police officer and an initial report must be submitted to the commissioner of police within 24 hours.
However, although the BSI has investigated 2,109 cases since its inception, only 1,175 of those investigations have been completed and 1,107 files submitted to the DPP....
Author: Balford Henry
Source: Jamaica Observer
