Kingston, Jamaica – Citizens’ Action for Principles and Integrity (CAPI) is warning that a proposed oversight body for the Independent Commission of Investigation (INDECOM) will diminish the intended independence of the investigative body and may render its effectiveness.
The joint-select committee of Parliament examining the INDECOM Act proposed an oversight body for the investigative and prosecutorial body as its zealous prosecution of members of the security force is having a demoralising effect.
In a news release Friday, CAPI’s co-convenor Dennis Meadows argued that INDECOM as a commission of Parliament already has parliamentary oversight in addition to judicial scrutiny. He added that, INDECOM’s finances and operations are overseen by the Auditor General and the Office of the Contractor General.
“The genesis of INDECOM was out of an urgent need for an independent body to investigate the misconduct of police and other agents of the State”, Meadows insisted.
“CAPI rejects any effort on the part of the joint-select committee and the minister of national security to diminish the independence of INDECOM in [fulfilling] its intended mandate under the Act.
“The real danger is Parliament pandering to the wishes of the police at the expense of the protection of the rights of Jamaicans, whose cries for justice occasioned the creation of INDECOM”, said Meadows.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/CAPI-warns-against-diminishing-INDECOM-s-independence