Acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob says while there have always been complaints of police inaction to reports of domestic violence “it has cut down tremendously.”
Jacob said the response to those complaints led to the formation of the Special Victims Department (SVD) last year.
“We still don’t have it right when persons make reports, not just in domestic matters but in relation to even altercations, things that might be dealing with the law of tort, with easement, adverse possession which are not matters for the police to attend to but to give advice.”
He said officers “don’t necessarily give the right advice in relation to landlord and tenant and domestic violence matters.” To combat that, the police have established a conflict resolution centre in St Joseph and a justice clinic to help inform people in communities know how to resolve domestic violence, landlord/tenant matters and similar matters.
“We have designed a manual for police officers listing the dos and the don’ts when they respond to those reports,” Jacob said, and the 67 legal officers would begin a training mission to “bring officers up to scratch.”
“We recognise these are things in our system and we are doing things to strengthen it.” He said this would help officers in charge-rooms and first responders on how they advise people making such reports.
Jacob said the police valued the recommendations of the PCA which help guide the necessary training for officers and assured that once a matter was referred for disciplinary action against an officer it was followed through. He said in relation to the absence of updates to the PCA about the status of disciplinary matters against officers there may be instances of “a breakdown in communication” but said some matters take longer to be resolved before a tribunal.
The acting CoP said it was the policy to take away the weapons of licensed firearm users or ask the person to lodge the gun at a station until the completion of the matter, once a report of domestic violence is made and confirmed by the police.
Data obtained from the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), between 2012 and 2021, has revealed that there are several cases where police are accused of failing to investigate or charge their colleagues accused of domestic violence.
In some cases, the record of the complaint cannot be found. The PCA also found that in some cases of wounding and assault there was no investigation and where death threats are made, the officers simply warned the alleged offenders without investigating the matter.
In another instance, a report of an assault by the girlfriend of an officer was “not only incorrectly coded but referred to a classification that did not mandate a full investigation.”
In an interview, SVD head Snr Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne urged officers to treat every report with the level of seriousness it deserves and called on victims to report errant officers.
She said when complaints of domestic violence are made
