It can easily be argued the Jamaica Constabulary Force created (INDECOM),the independent Commission of Investigations. Those making that claim would not be too far off.
It is not out of the ordinary to have oversight of police departments, in fact it is highly advisable in a Democratic society that no one body operate without oversight.
INDECOM came into existence under the Bruce Golding Administration as a result of tremendous public demand for oversight of the police department. The Government was responsive to those calls and INDECOM was born.
Naturally police departments are never happy about oversight.
Surprisingly many members of the force I spoke to are un-opposed to what they call “Pressure groups”. What they are opposed to is that their concerns are not considered in the mix as it relates to the difficulties inherent in their job.
The actions of many officers of the (JCF) made the creation of INDECOM an absolute necessity . The year was 1991 I was sitting in a class room at the Jamaica Police Academy on an in-service course. The instructor asked what offence in our mind did we feel police officers had not been engaged in committing?
The classroom was silent for several minutes as we all tried to think of any crime members of the department had not been accused of .
No one answered.
No one could.
Bunting
That was 24 years ago, since then members of the (JCF) has done almost irreparable harm to the department , prompting many to call for it’s disbandment.
The Jamaican Parliament debated and passed the INDECOM Act.
Like everything that they engage in they did a terrible job of formulating the Act.
The law was drafted without adequate consideration given to the concerns of police and members of the (JDF) Jamaica Defense Force. Conversely the Act. was largely influenced with tainted rhetoric from forces withing the Jamaican society which were largely hostile to police for personal and other reasons.
Entities like (JFJ) and it’s head Carolyn Gomes. Families against state terrorism[sic] (FAST) . The Norman Manley Law School and other far left special interests groups were allowed to taint the process with corrosive ant-police influences.
The result is a bad law. Not bad in intent , bad in content.
There is no need to to investigate every instance where police use force.
There is no need to give INDECOM Agents power of arrest, we have a Director of Public Prosecution.
When police officers are to be charged they are duly charged and face the courts like everyone else as it should be.
Many are quick to point to the American Federal Bureau Of Investigations as a template.
The FBI does not have power to arrest officers. They investigate and submit their findings to the prosecutor. Congress was smart to understand the importance of morale, as well as the need to reduce the likelihood of conflict.
They also understood the need for a delicate balance between supporting local law-enforcement and having oversight.
Some Jamaican “Joe-Blows” have likened INDECOM to the FBI. That parallel could not be any more wrong as the role of the FBI is not to investigate Police Abuse , it is to investigate and enforce Federal Laws.
Some American law enforcement Agencies have active oversight , some do not.
Many withing the Jamaican society have varying opinions on the role and even the relevance of INDECOM.
On Wednesday Raulston Nembhard a priest and social commentator, jumped into the fray in a lengthy Article for the Jamaica Observer in which he assailed the Ministers of Justice and National Security for daring to want to add some degree of oversight to INDECOM. Said Raulston Nembhard . “INDECOM exists to restrain the heartless, wicked and corrupt cop who will harass the ordinary citizen or even kill with impunity. It exists to restrain those who would kick down the poor man’s door and use obscenity in the pursuance of their duties. Bunting and Golding, why would you want to place any handcuff on such a body”?
I extracted this one statement because I believe it offers a poignant synopsis of the self righteous hypocrites in Jamaica.
On the one hand he makes an impassioned argument for oversight of the police, while on the other he does the exact opposite when it related to the Agency he is in favor of.
What a hypocrite.
INDECOM has at it’s head a power-hungry Napoleonic narcissist , at every turn he demands more and more power yet he is opposed to oversight of his agency arguing that the agency is already answerable to Parliament.
This is exactly the reason why there ought to be oversight of INDECOM as there is a need for oversight of the JCF .
As we march to a more transparent society, one in which we adhere to the dictates of laws, let us never put power into the hands of a few without the necessary checks and balances.
We should never allow our Country’s laws to be dictated by the few who live above Cross Roads. For too long we have allowed the self righteous grandiosity of the proverbial” big man” to hold sway, we must not allow it anymore.
Lets have oversight of INDECOM.
Lets not shackle our police with threats of arrest when they place their lives at risk for us.
Hypocrites like Raulston Nembhard are blessed to live in societies where the sacrifice of police officers are ignored and demeaned without paying a price for it and that should change.
See Observer story here: Do not straitjacket, handcuff INDECOM
Terrence must go we’ve too of Terrence defending crimmals and also the human wrongs need to go because they don’t care about the law abiding people of jamaica all they care about is batty man,so am in support get reed of indendum .
We need a safer environment for our wife children and love ones since indecom came in crimmals are on holiday,and the thing that hurt me the most when innocent people die by the hands of crimmals indecom and human wrongs don’t say anything.but make a police shoot a crimmal they come out and talk all this foolishness .so indendum need to put under control and am not saying we don’t have corrupt cops but those cops need to deal with individual,we can’t have a group like indecom generalizing the whole police force and treating every one the same it dont right none at all.
Indecom goes around and find police officers offer dem money to turn against each other tell u they can send u over seas if u dont work with wat they request they then tell de other party wat de other officers said they even do it to senior officers,they are no better dan de gun men.they use their power of arrest to abuse members of de police force all dat which as been said will be proven soon .they tell people dem can protec dem and
They also caused police officers charge and are before de court,to change their lawyer they contact de lawyer and put some deal to dem for de lawyer to put it to their clients dats is why dem want a over sight body,they are out of control with their power of arrest.not only members of de security forces need help from indecom and its jlp lead organization de public also our Jamaican citizens are being killed every day.