RECENT developments have underlined the need for more robust systems of independent oversight over the police service.
Failure to address this could be fatal to the interests of both citizens and the State. It will encourage the erosion of the credibility of law enforcement authorities and hamper all efforts to tackle the spiralling crime situation.
At a Parliament committee last week, acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob reiterated the role of the police's Professional Standards Bureau in handling cases of police misconduct.
Mr Jacob cited one case of a leak of evidence where a police officer photographed an accused person who was hospitalised. The officer was probed by fellow officers and then charged with malicious publishing under the Libel Act.
This example was meant to provide reassurance. But it simply underlined the weaknesses inherent to the system. A situation in which cops probe cops and then themselves determine the penalty is of limited value.
In a situation in which police officers are frequently upbraided for deadly use of force, charging one officer with malicious libel is not a major deterrent. (If the accused person had died, no libel action might have survived under the law.)
It was only last month Mr Jacob had to address concerns over the use of tear gas on protesters in a situation in which the police said such a measure was necessary on the facts.
Had there been an independent way to verify those facts - such as the use of body cameras - then it might have been easier to gauge the proportionality of that incident relative to the threat reportedly posed by the marchers.
Body cameras have long been called for.
Over the years, many 'pilot schemes' have occurred, meant as precursors to more widespread use. And yet, the role of these devices remains murky. It is unclear to what extent they are deployed today and to what degree they are relied on in the process of internal fact-finding.
Another murky aspect of policing which has been in the news of late is the issue of the granting of firearm user's licences in a situation in which gun crime is rampant.
The many questions and concerns over the proliferation of these licences are proof enough of the need for more robust controls over the way all levels of the police hierarchy exercise their functions.
That bodies such as the Police Complaints Authority are circumscribed in their ability to prosecute wrongdoing is suggested by their history of delay in relation to key probes, as well as their marginalisation in individual cases that have emerged.
One area of hope is the fact that whistle-blower legislation currently before the Parliament might allow police to disclose wrongdoing.
But without wider, non-partisan law reform, the situation will continue to deteriorate.
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