Questions for commish and DPP

LAST WEEK, Terrence Williams, commissioner of INDECOM, lamented the poor accountability of security forces. Indeed, the commissioner of police could improve on accountability.

Four months ago, this column highlighted the unsatisfactory situation of one person holding two full-time jobs in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, as chaplain, as well as commandant of the training school. Providentially, I had an encounter with the minister of national security and he gave me an explanation, but no word from the commissioner and no change.

Similarly, the commissioner of police has not responded to an assertion made two weeks ago by the contractor general that he was given sensitive, compelling and grave information concerning persons connected to the LNG project. This information was shared months ago with the commissioner, and up to last week, the information had not reached the desk of the usual investigating branch. The contractor general's position was created by an act of Parliament and it has powers similar to a judge and can commandeer sensitive information. Therefore, it is baffling that there has been no response from the commissioner of police. It does not appear fair to the OCG and it does give the impression that the various government agencies are not cooperating to eradicate corruption.

The silence of the police commissioner is not helping the reputations of the three persons named in the OCG report. The commissioner should clear the air. He could say the information received does not rise to the level of an investigation, or the investigation was completed and nothing found. Did the director of public prosecutions know the results of this investigation? It is not good for a cloud to be hanging over the heads of these persons.

Accountability needs improvement in the security forces. After a year and four months, the ballistic report is not completed in the Keith Clarke case. But the Clarke family is not the only one with such experience. What of the residents of Tivoli? The prime minister promised a commission of enquiry after the public defender had completed his investigations. It is time for an inquiry into the Tivoli operation. This is not a statement against the need to react and enter Tivoli, but it is to ensure that all seventy-odd persons who were killed were justifiably killed.

In 2003, Baha Mousa, an Iraqi man, was beaten to death while in British custody in Basra. The inquiry into his death heard that Mousa suffered at least 93 injuries prior to his death. A public inquiry, chaired by the retired Lord Justice of Appeal Sir William Gage, reported on September 8, 2011, that British soldiers had subjected detainees to "serious, gratuitous violence". And army-training manuals failed to explain that the five interrogation techniques used had been banned by the British since 1972, and were also illegal under the Geneva Convention.

The British did an investigation for three years into the death of one man, and we in Jamaica will not have an inquiry into the deaths of at least seventy persons! We are displaying disrespect for human lives.

There are many more questions for the police and DPP such as how come David Smith pleaded guilty in the United States of America for offences that largely originated in Jamaica, but there are no related charges here?

Deputy Commissioner Ealan Powell has shown growing signs of accountability including hosting press conferences to update Jamaicans and seek help in crime fighting. However, there needs to be greater accountability from the security forces and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, in the search for a peaceful, prosperous and clean society.

Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew. Comments to columns@gleanerjm.com.